A Stark Raised By Fentons
by Agent Willow Fenton-Banner
Summary: Summary inside. Rated T for, well, you know.
1. Chapter 1

Universes:

AU Danny Phantom

AU Iron Man

AU Iron Man 2

AU Avengers

AU Iron Man 3

Plot: Howard Stark and Maria Stark had lived longer than just Tony's teens, and Tony got Stark Industries when he was twenty.

Maria Stark had lived longer than Howard after the plane crash, but not by much. The last gift Howard gave Maria before he went on to the Ghost Zone was a child, a half-ghost child, who Maria named Marcus Howard Stark.

Giving up the child to some college friends, Jack Fenton and Maddie Fenton, she killed herself. But before that, she told them that Marcus was half-ghost. Jack and Maddie made a medication to suppress the half-ghost inside of Marcus- who they dubbed Daniel "Danny" James Fenton.

Flash forward fourteen years, and Danny had the portal accident. In the beginning, he thought the portal half killed him. In reality, the portal didn't kill him at all. It fried his medication, freeing his ghost half.

Telling Jack and Maddie about it, they explained to Danny that he wasn't really Daniel James Fenton. He was actually Marcus Howard Stark, half-ghost son of Maria Stark and Howard Stark, and half-ghost younger brother of the famous Anthony Edward Stark.

Tony knew about Danny. He knew that his mother had lived and had Danny. So when Jack and Maddie ask him if he wants to meet Danny... Well, he prepares a room and everything. And then... The events of Iron Man happen. And all the other movies.

Authors- Agent Rossi and Jennythe3

Disclaimer- We own nothing. I own the plot. It's very unique, if I do say so myself.

Other- This chapter will be covering ALL of Iron Man, including the after credits scene. Sorry if this seems fast-paced. I don't have the whole transcript for any of the movies (and do NOT link me to an abridged script. That will not help me. At all. Ever. If anything, those abridged scripts piss me off). Anyways, I am also sorry if the dialogue is wrong in some places. See above for that explanation. Most will just be scenes with Tony or Danny, or Tony and Danny. There will be some (like when Pepper hacks into the S.I. mainframe for Tony) scenes that have neither characters, as well. One last thing. Danny was born when Tony was 22. Enjoy the story!

* * *

**A Stark Raised By Fenton's**

**Chapter One**

**Iron Man and Danny Phantom**

A young, fourteen year old Danny Fenton was suffering through some of the worse pain in his life. Scratch that- _the_ worse pain in his whole life. He was screaming in agony, and all his friends- Tucker Foley and Sam Manson- could do was watch, mouths open in shock. They were too surprised to do anything, and they couldn't even look away. "Danny..." The girl whispered, voice cracking. She thought Danny was dead. "Danny!" She screamed, falling to the floor.

The portal sparked more, and Danny's screams of agony increased. "Sam, look out!" Tucker yelled, pushing her out of the way of the portal.

It spit out a burst of energy at the wall, Danny hitting it. Except, his raven black hair was a snowy white, and his baby blue eyes were an electric green. His suit was inverted, and a strange symbol that looked like a racing D had appeared on it.

"Oh my gosh, Danny!" Sam screamed, racing toward him. Tucker followed.

"Kids!? Are you alright!?" A female voice was heard from upstairs.

Tucker was hyperventilating, as Danny twitched with electricity. He was scared to even touch him. "Dude, dude, no. You can't be dead! We've never went on a double date with twin cheerleaders!"

Danny twitched, and his eyes closed drowsily. "I'm not dead..." He slurred out, collapsing to the ground. He twitched again, and rings washed over him, transforming him back into a human to Tucker's and Sam's shock. "It's so dark... Night..." His eyelids started to close drowsily.

"No, no, no... Danny... Don't go to sleep..." Sam muttered, shaking him slightly.

He sparked again.

"Dude, don't go to the light!" Tucker yelled, as Maddie raced down the stairs to see her son, on the floor, sparking with electricity. His eyes were dull, and his breathing was slow. His skin was much paler than normal.

When he sparked again, Maddie couldn't help but faint.

"Mrs. Fenton!"

Jack came running down afterward, and immediately, he called two numbers. 9-1-1. And, the number of a certain Anthony Edward Stark...

* * *

Tony was in his workshop, working on one of his _many _cars, when he got the call.

"_Sir, a 'Jack Fenton' is trying to reach you via the telephone._" The British English voice of the A.I. Butler, J.A.R.V.I.S., said.

Anthony Edward Stark, commonly called Tony, shot up. "Answer it, J.A.R.V.I.S.." He said, pushing himself out from under the car.

"_As you wish, sir._" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.

"Mr. Fenton, what's wrong?" Tony asked.

"_Danny... Got electrocuted by a ghost portal. It seems to have activated his dormant... Ghost..._" Jack said.

"And what do you need from me? I know nothing about ghosts or biology, and Stark Industries is a _weapons _manufacturing company. Can't help there." Tony replied.

"_We might need help... Explaining who he really is._" Jack answered. "_That, you _can _help with._"

"What do you need in that department?" Tony asked, suddenly very interested.

"_Practically- everything._"

"You mean birth name, parents, and the likes?" He asked, just wanting to make sure.

"_Yeah." _Jack answered.

"You want it now, or you want me to tell him?"

"_You should tell him."_ Jack answered.

"Alright." Tony nodded, though Jack wouldn't be able to see it. "Anything else?"

"_We'll see once you get here."_ He answered.

"See you then, Mr. Fenton." Tony said, ending the call. "J.A.R.V.I.S., call Pepper and tell her to reschedule all meetings for the next few weeks. And jet the jet ready. We're going to Amity Park."

"_As you wish, sir._" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied as Tony got ready to go to Amity Park.

* * *

Danny sat in a hospital bed, wires hooked up to him. The doctors had just left, and were now allowing him to have visitors. Sam and Tucker walked in, followed by Maddie and Jack.

He was staring at his arm, then he looked up at them. His eyes were swirling with green, but he didn't notice. "Daniel James Fenton... What did you think you were doing?" Maddie questioned, seeing the green.

"I- I was trying to fix it..." He replied, frowning. "I did... It just hurt."

Maddie frowned, and Sam and Tucker really wanted them out of the room so they could tell Danny what they saw.

"But the weird thing- while I was being shocked... I kept seeing flashes of white and green... And this weird symbol. It was... Creepy." He said.

Sam and Tucker frowned.

"That is... Strange." Maddie said.

"And I had a weird dream after I passed out." Danny explained. "I was... Tanner. I had white hair. Green eyes. I wore a black and white jumpsuit- inverted colors of the one I was in- with that symbol on it... And... I was flying."

Sam's eyes widened. "That's- that's-"

"Dude! That's what you looked like when you came out of the portal!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Wait... What!?" Maddie, Jack, and Danny all questioned.

Danny paled, and then... His arms seemed to disappear.

"Oh my God... Jack... It's happening." Maddie whispered.

"What's happening?" Danny questioned, staring at where his arms were supposed to be in shock.

The door opened and Tony Stark came in. He looked at Danny, then at the other occupants in the room.

"Hello Mr. Fenton, Mrs. Fenton, Danny." Tony greeted, deciding to lean against the wall.

"Your adopted." Jack said. He looked back to Tony.

"Well... That was blunt." Sam muttered, eyes widened in shock.

"That's- that's-you're Tony Stark!" Tucker sputtered out.

Tony nodded. "And before you say it, no, I am not your father." He said. "You're actually my younger brother." He continued. "Our parents, Howard Stark and Maria Carbonell-Stark, were reported killed in a plane crash. In reality, only dear old dad died. As mom said, he gave her 'one last gift', as a ghost. That 'gift' is you."

Danny's eyes widened, and his mouth was open with shock. His eyes were bright green, and his arms were visible again.

"Danny?" Sam said, poking him to try to get a response.

He was in a state of shock, and didn't realize it.

"Before mom decided she wanted to be with Howard and not alone, she gave you a name and gave you to the Fenton's." Tony continued.

"What- what's my... Real name then?" Danny asked.

"Marcus Howard Stark." Tony answered.

Danny nodded slowly, before falling through the bed.

"Danny!" Sam and Tucker yelled.

"You alright, kid?" Tony asked.

He climbed out from under the bed, and nodded before he started floating up to the ceiling.

Sam looked up, and slapped herself in the face before jumping up and grabbing his shoe, dragging him back down to the ground.

Tucker looked toward Tony. "Anyways... I can't believe I'm best friends with the brother of Tony Stark! I'm a huge fan! Sign my P.D.A.s?" He pulled out seven of the devices.

"Uh..." Tony looked at the P.D.A.s. "Why do you have seven of them?"

"Because. One of them always gets taken away, gets fried from ectoplasmic radiation, some of them break, and I need backups." Tucker said.

"Wouldn't you be happy with an autograph?" Tony asked.

"I guess so." Tucker said.

Tony took out a piece of paper and a pen, signing his name on the paper and giving it to Tucker.

Tucker grinned, taking it.

"Tucker, don't fangirl. Just don't." Sam said, which offended Tucker.

"Hey! I'm a dude, not a girl!"

"Fine. Don't _geek_." Sam remarked.

Maddie looked at Danny. "And Danny, sweetie, you're going to go with Mr. Stark for a while." She said.

"Wait, what?" Danny said.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Mrs. Fenton. My P.A. says I barely take care of myself, as does my own A.I.! Not to mention that I'm a _weapons _manufacturer." Tony argued.

Maddie glared at him for a second.

Tony looked like he wanted to argue more about it, since he was an alcoholic, not home very often, a playboy who always brought girls home for a one-night stand, and generally a horrible role model, but the glare made him think twice about it."Actually, maybe it is a good idea." He gulped. "Let me just go make some calls..." He took out his phone and rushed out of the room.

"But- but- mom! I hardly know him!" Danny said as soon as Tony was out of the room.

"You need to 'bond' with your brother." She said. "No buts about it."

"But-"

"I said, _no buts about it_." Maddie repeated.

"Yes ma'am..."

Tucker was too busy fangir- _geeking_- to notice, and Sam was frowning.

* * *

At the airport, Tony's chauffeur, Happy Hogan, had Tony's bags, along with Danny's.

"Ready, kid?" Tony asked.

Danny nodded.

"Then lets go." Tony said, going up the stairs. Happy was the first one on the jet, though.

Danny followed behind him, hoping he wouldn't suddenly start either a) disappearing, b) sinking through anything, or c) floating.

"So, you ever been to Malibu before?" Tony asked casually.

Danny shook his head. "I've pretty much only stayed in Amity Park." He answered. "The closest thing we've had to a vacation is either going to Spotone, Arkansas and another dimension. Long story." He said.

Tony laughed a bit as he entered the jet. "Then I think you'll like it."

Danny smiled. "Let's just hope I don't fall out of the jet." He joked.

Tony nodded with a smile of his own.

* * *

The jet landed in Malibu later on that day.

Danny sighed in relief because he hadn't fallen off the jet. He had only floated a little bit and turned invisible, luckily.

A red haired woman walked up to Tony. "Tony, where have you-" Then she noticed Danny. "Oh my God! Tony, did you _steal _a teenager!?"

"Wait, what?" Tony asked. "No! Pep, I didn't steal a teenager."

"I'm his brother." Danny said, getting up with his arms crossed.

"Wait, brother?" The woman asked.

"It's a long story, Pepper. Did you get what I told you to?" He asked.

Pepper nodded. "It's all in the guest bedroom at the house." She looked at Danny again. "And now I can see why you asked for those things."

Danny felt a little left out of the conversation, and when he went to move to the aisleway of the jet, his foot turned intangible and sunk into the ground, then it turned tangible again- getting stuck. "Seriously!?" He questioned, trying to pull his foot out of the ground.

Pepper saw that and started to freak out. "Oh my God! Are you alright!"

"My foot is stuck in the floor of a jet. I don't think that counts as alright." Danny remarked, tugging on his foot again.

"Do-do you need some help?" She asked.

"Probab-" His foot finally came out of the ground. "Never mind. At least that didn't happen while the jet was in the air." He commented.

"H-how did you do that?" She was shocked.

"I got electrocuted by a portal earlier today... I've been floating, disappearing, and falling through things ever since." Danny answered, his eyes turning from blue to green.

"Actually... You were born this way, Phantom." Tony sighed. "Dear old dad had died before you were born, but mom hadn't... He, sorta... Have you watched the film in health class yet?"

Danny nodded, feeling an awkward conversation coming on.

"Well, dad's ghost did 'it' with mom as a human..."

"I'm going to go barf now." Danny said, walking toward the bathroom.

"Tony!" Pepper hissed, smacking him upside the head.

"What, would _you _have a better way of doing it? You didn't even _know_, Pepper!"

* * *

"_Good morning. It's 7:00 A.M. The weather in Malibu is 72 degrees with scattered clouds. The surf conditions are fair with waist-to-shoulder high lines. High tide will be at 10:52 A.M._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said after Christine Everheart woke up.

"Tony?" She asked, walking around the house. "Hey, Tony?" She touched a blue dial, which turned red.

"_You are not authorized to access this area._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said, making the woman jump back.

A fourteen year old boy with black hair and bright green eyes showed up in the doorway. "Um... Who are you?" He questioned, having heard her call out for Tony.

"Christine Everheart. Vanity Fair Magazine. And who are you?" She asked.

Danny debated giving her his name, or not. "I'm Tony's brother." He said, eyes narrowed.

"Tony has a brother?" She asked.

"Didn't I just say that?" He said, arms crossed.

"Well, yes, but there's no record of it!"

He smirked slightly. "Your point being...?"

"How-" Christine never got to finish her sentence as the clicking of heels could be heard.

Danny recognized the clicking of heels as Pepper, and his smirk grew bigger.

"I've got your clothes here. They've been dry-cleaned and pressed, and there's a car waiting for you outside that will take you anywhere you'd like to go." Pepper told Christine.

"You must be the famous Pepper Potts." Christine smirked.

"Indeed I am." Pepper nodded.

"After all these years, Tony still has you picking up the dry-cleaning." She pointed out.

Pepper remained business like. "I do anything and everything that Mr. Stark requires, including, occasionally, taking out the trash." She replied. "Will that be all?"

Danny snickered a little bit, knowing what Pepper meant by trash.

Christine huffed and left to go get changed. "Danny, can you come with me down into the workshop for a moment?" Pepper asked.

Danny nodded.

* * *

Down in the workshop, Tony was working on a car when Pepper turned down the music and entered with Danny.

"Please don't turn down my music." Tony said.

"Too late." Danny said.

"You two are supposed to be halfway around the world right now." Pepper said, glaring at Tony.

"How'd she take it?" Tony asked, clearly talking about Everheart.

"Like a champ." Pepper sighed.

"Oh, before I forget..." Danny said. "Apparently I also have advanced hearing." He said. "And wait... Trip?"

"Log that, J.A.R.V.I.S.." Tony said.

"_Yes sir._" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.

"Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?" He asked Pepper.

"Tony has a demonstration in Afghanistan for a missile, and no one will be around so you have to go with him." Pepper explained. "Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago." She glared at Tony.

"Afghanistan?" Danny questioned. "Isn't that next to China or something?" Danny asked.

Pepper shook her head. "No, it's in the Middle East." She replied.

"That's funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there." Tony said, getting up.

Danny smiled slightly.

"Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple things before I get you out of the door." Pepper said.

"Doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?" Tony asked, seemingly ignoring Pepper.

Danny nodded. "You would think they'd wait for you."

"Larry called. He's got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings." Pepper said, ignoring the comments about planes. "Do you want it, yes or no?"

"Is it a good representation of his spring period?" Tony asked.

"No. The Springs was actually the neighborhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not 'spring' like the season." Pepper explained. "So?" She asked.

"I think it's a fair example." Tony said.

"I think it's incredibly overpriced." Pepper replied.

"I need it. Buy it, store it." Tony said.

"Okay." Pepper checked something off on her list. "The M.I.T. commencement speech-"

"Is in June. Please, don't harangue me about stuff that's way, way, down-"

"They're haranguing me, so I'm gonna say yes."

"Deflect it and absorb it. Don't transmit it back to me."

Pepper showed Tony something he had to sign. "I need you to sign this before you get on the plane."

"What are you trying to get rid of me for? What, you got plans?" Tony asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do have plans."

"I don't like it when you have plans."

Danny was slightly annoyed by all the business talk, but then he smirked slightly. "Why?" He asked.

"I'm allowed to have plans on my birthday." Pepper replied to Tony.

"It's your birthday?"

"Yes."

"I knew that. Already?"

"Yeah. Isn't that strange? It's the same day as last year."

"Get yourself something nice from me."

"I already did."

"And?"

"It was very nice."

* * *

Tony and Danny got to the plane three hours _after _it was supposed to depart.

"What's wrong with you?" Col. James Rhodes asked.

"What?" Tony asked.

"_Three hours._" Rhodey, as Tony had dubbed him, replied.

"I got caught doing a piece for Vanity Fair." Tony defended himself.

"For _three hours_. For _three hours_ you kept me standing here." Rhodey argued.

The two continued arguing on the way inside the plane.

Danny rolled his eyes- by then, he figured out that Tony liked to argue with people.

* * *

"What are you reading, platypus?" Tony asked Rhodey after they were in the air.

"Nothing."

"Come on, sour patch. Don't be mad."

"I told you, I'm not mad. I'm indifferent, okay?"

"I said I was sorry."

"Good morning, Mr. Stark." A waitress greeted him.

"You don't need to apologize to me. I'm your man." Rhodey said.

"Hi. I told him I was sorry, but he-"

"I'm just indifferent right now."

"Hot towel?" The waitress asked.

"Sure." Danny said.

The waitress nodded and went off to go get a hot towel for Danny.

"You don't respect yourself, so I know you don't respect me." Rhodey said.

"I respect you."

"I'm just your babysitter. So, when you need your diaper changed, let me know and I'll get you a bottle, okay?"

"You two really like arguing, don't you?" Danny questioned, after rolling his eyes.

"We're just indifferent." Rhodey replied.

"I said I was sorry." Tony said.

"Are we _really _going over this again?" Rhodey groaned.

Danny slapped his forehead. "You two are worse than Sam and Tucker." He declared.

Tony had to smile at that.

The waitress came back with a hot towel for Danny.

"Thanks." He said, taking it.

"Anything else?" She asked.

Danny shook his head. "I'll be fine for now." He replied, using the hot towel on his face.

* * *

"General." Tony said, now professional.

"Welcome, Mr. Stark. We look forward to your weapons presentation." The General ignored the fact that Tony Stark had a teenager with him.

Danny frowned at being ignored, but didn't say anything. He was too fascinated with all of the noise he could now hear anyways.

"Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both? With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries' Freedom Line. It's the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulsor technology." Tony stood in front of a mountain landscape. "_They_ say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. **I respectfully disagree**. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire **once**." He continued. "That's how Dad did it. That's how America does it. And it's worked out pretty well so far." He pressed a button on a remote he was holding and a missile launcher aimed itself at the mountains behind Tony. "Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee you the bad guys won't even want to come out of their caves." He pressed another button, letting a missile loose. "For your consideration, the Jericho." The missile made flares, and then proceeded to blow up the mountains.

Walking over to a cooler with the Stark Industries logo on it, he opened it and an alcoholic beverage came out. Taking a glass he said, "I'll be throwing one of these in with every purchase of 500 million or more. To peace!"

Danny had flinched slightly at the noise the Jericho had given off when it exploded those mountains- his new found hearing abilities made it seem even louder. "Should you really be drinking now, Tony?" Danny questioned.

Tony shrugged but downed the glass anyways. "I can hold my liquor." He opened his phone.

"_Tony!_" Obadiah said as he picked up his phone.

"Obie, what are you doing up?" Tony asked.

"_I couldn't sleep till I found out how it went. How'd it go?_"

"It went great. Looks like it's gonna be an early Christmas."

"_Hey! Way to go, my boy! I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?_"

"Why aren't you wearing those pajamas I got you?"

"_Good night, Tony._" And then he hung up.

Tony got into the back of a Humvee.

Danny sighed, and followed. He was starting to get annoyed by all of this traveling. He couldn't see how Tony could stand it.

"Hey, Tony." Rhodey said.

"I'm sorry this is the 'fun-vee.'" Tony said, leaning out of the window. "The 'hum-drum-vee' is back there."

"Nice job, see you back at base." Rhodey said.

* * *

As they were driving, it was very quiet. Until Tony decided to break that silence. "I feel like you're driving me to a court-martial. This is crazy. What did I do? I feel like you're going to pull over and snuff me. What, you're not allowed to talk? Hey, Forrest!"

Danny slapped himself on the forehead. "And, he's drunk." He figured out. "Tony, calm down! You. Are. Drunk!"

"I told you, I can hold my liquor!"

"Yeah. _Right._" Danny said. "Why do I feel like you're going to do something stupid that will change our lives forever?" He mumbled.

Tony shrugged in response.

More words were exchanged, when a bomb went off in front of them, in the Humvee in front of theirs.

Danny's eyes widened in shock, and before he knew it, he went intangible on a survival instinct. He flung his hands in front of his face, like that would help protect him.

"Jimmy, stay with them!" One of the soldiers said as the two in the front got out.

"Stay down!" Jimmy commanded.

"Yeah!" Tony wheezed.

Before he realized what was happening, Danny had intangibly dropped out of the Humvee. He frowned as he tumbled to a stop, and he was trying to figure the situation out.

After Jimmy had left to deal with the situation, Tony had run out of the Humvee. Because of the gunshots that were going off, Tony hid behind a rock.

That was when a bomb embedded itself into the ground right next to Tony as he was frantically trying to call someone.

Tony looked at the logo on the side of the bomb. "Woah." He said as he read 'Stark Industries'. Tony tried to run, but the bomb blew up when he started to run.

"Tony!" Danny yelled, still intangible, before running toward him. His eyes were a bright green.

After a few minutes, he no longer had the strength for intangibility. And so, before he could even reach Tony, he fainted.

* * *

Tony woke up in a cave with a nasal drip in his nose. He pulled it out, then noticed the wires coming out of his chest.

Tony ripped at the gauze on his chest and looked at the circular device in his chest. Looking at what it was hooked up to, Tony gasped. It was hooked up to a car battery.

Tony tried to take it out when he heard a voice. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"What the hell did you do to me?" Tony said, feeling cold.

"What I did? What I did is to save your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there's a lot left, and it's headed into your atrial septum." The man explained, taking out a jar. "Here, want to see? I have a souvenir. Take a look." He gave the jar to Tony. "I've seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs."

"Does that mean he's gonna die?" A voice asked, from the other side of the room. He sounded pretty loud, and kinda woozy.

The man shook his head. "No."

"What is this?" Tony said, gesturing to the car battery.

"That is an electromagnet, hooked up to a car battery, and it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart." He explained. He noticed that Tony noticed a camera in the room. "That's right, smile." He smiled. "We met once, you know, at a technical conference in Bern."

"I don't remember."

"No, you wouldn't." The man replied. "If I had been that drunk, I wouldn't have been able to stand, much less give a lecture on integrated circuits."

Tony looked around the room/cave. "Where are we?" He asked.

Noises came from behind the door. "Come on, stand up. Stand up! Just do as I do." He said hastily. "Come on, put your hands up."

Tony did as he was told for once.

Danny did as well- he was the voice from the other side of the room, and he was kinda drugged.

"Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?" Tony asked, but he was ignored.

The leader said something in another language and the man translated. "He says, 'Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America.' He is honored. He wants you to build the missile. The Jericho missile that you demonstrated."

"I refuse!" Tony said.

"Tony!" The man hissed. "He wants to know what you think."

"I think you got a lot of my weapons." Tony replied.

"He says they have everything you need to build the Jericho missile. He wants you to make the list of materials. He says for you to start working immediately, and when you're done, he will set both of you free."

Tony shook his head. "No, he won't."

Danny frowned slightly.

The men left after a while, and the three prisoners were sitting around, eating.

"I'm sure they're looking for you, Stark. But they will never find you in these mountains. Look, what you just saw, that is your legacy, Stark." The man started. "Your life's work, in the hands of those murderers. Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something about it?"

"Why should I do anything? They're going to kill me, you, Danny, either way. And if they don't, I'll probably be dead in a week."

"Tony... There's always a way to work through it. If those bullets didn't even scratch me, I doubt they could this time. We won't die." Danny said, smirking- not thinking clearly due to the drugs he was given to keep him calm and (mostly) easy to control.

"Well, then, this is a very important week for you, isn't it?"

"I'll make sure of it. We won't die. Danny... I made a promise to your mother, Mrs. Fenton, that I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you. And though this can be counted as bad, I won't let anything ever worse happen." Tony said, new found determination running through him. "If this is going to be my workstation, I want it well-lit. I want these up. I need welding gear. I don't care if it's acetylene or propane. I need a soldering station. I need helmets. I'm gonna need goggles. I would like a smelting cup. I need two sets of precision tools." Tony said, then turned to the man. "How many languages do you speak?"

"A lot."

"But apparently, not enough for this place." Tony pointed out.

"They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian." He answered.

"Who are these people?"

"They are your loyal customers, sir. They call themselves the Ten Rings."

Danny snickered at their name.

* * *

Danny sat in his little corner of the cave, able to see everything clearly. And frankly, he was bored. The drugs had worked the way out of his system- luckily- which made things seem much less fun now.

He stated at his invisible hand, then glanced toward where Tony was. "I swear, I'm not gonna just sit around..." He muttered, closing his eyes. He focused on his hand and what it looked like, before opening his eyes to see his hand was turning visible again. He smirked victoriously, then tried making it invisible.

After a few minutes, it worked. He repeated the whole 'invisible hand' trick a few times, grin wide. He figured out something productive to do with his time.

While Tony was keeping them all alive by working... Danny would be training for their escape. His goal: reach that transformation he saw in his dream. Maybe then he'd be able to do more than just sitting around after all.

* * *

"You know, we might be more productive if you include me in the planning process." The man, who had introduced himself as Yinsen, said.

"Okay, we don't need this." Tony muttered.

"What is that?"

"That's palladium, 0.15 grams. We need at least 1.6, so why don't you go break down the other 11?" Tony said.

A while later, they were pouring something into a cup.

"Careful. Careful, we only get one shot at this."

"Relax. I have steady hands. Why do you think you're still alive?" Yinsen said, clearly trying to joke around a bit by giving a small laugh.

Finally, their project was done. "That doesn't look like a Jericho missile." Yinsen pointed out.

"That's because it's a miniaturized arc reactor. I got a big one powering my factory at home. It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart." Tony said.

"But what could it generate?" Yinsen asked.

"If my math is right, and it always is, three gigajoules per second." Tony answered.

"That could run your heart for 50 lifetimes." Yinsen exclaimed.

"Yeah. Or something big for 15 minutes."

* * *

Danny smiled to himself, as he slightly levitated off of the ground. He was surprised nobody had noticed his little 'training sessions'. What did they think he was doing? Did they think he was being a good little teenager and sitting back doing nothing? He internally laughed.

_Oh, I'm only a teenager. Nothing dangerous. _He thought to himself, smirking. He landed on the ground gently, before he looked at the nearby wall. He focused energy around his eyes, causing a glow to form against the wall.

He quickly stopped and looked around to see if anyone noticed. They hadn't. He breathed a sigh of relief.

So far, he was doing pretty good with his powers. He only had one worry: whether or not he could turn into that other form...

He closed his eyes, reaching for the coldness inside him for a moment- to reassure him that he could do it. All he had to do was wait for the right moment...

Tony walked over to Yinsen. "This is our ticket out of here." He said suddenly, handing him a stack of papers with drawings on them.

"What is it?"

"Flatten them out and look."

Yinsen did what Tony said. "Oh, wow." He muttered, looking at the suit.

"Hey, Danny, come here for a minute!" Tony called with a smile.

Danny jumped slightly- startled at first, then he walked over. "What is it?" He asked.

"That's how we're getting out of here." Tony said, pointing to the bulky piece of armor he drew.

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Looks like armor." He noted. "Do you think I'd be able to help with the escape?" He asked.

"You're part ghost, and you're a Stark. What do you think?" Tony smiled.

"Before I forget..." Danny smirked, starting to levitate. He turned his arm invisible, then visible again. He landed, then stuck his arm through the table intangibly. "I have a lot more control now." He said, eyes glowing.

Tony's smile grew. "Oh yeah. We'll kick ass." He said, unconsciously tapping his new Arc Reactor.

"No kidding. Especially if I'm able to transform..." He paused to explain after seeing Tony's, somewhat, confused face. "I think I have a ghostly form too. I might have more powers in it..." He said. He paused, as if thinking.

"Let's get started."

* * *

Only a few minutes ago, the leader of the Ten Rings came in and threatened Yinsen, after he had found out about what they were trying to do. He had said, "You have till tomorrow to assemble my missile."

* * *

The suit itself was done, now what they needed was to power it up.

"Okay, say it again." Yinsen said.

"41 steps straight ahead. Then 16 steps, that's from the door, fork right, 33 steps, turn right." Tony replied.

Screaming was heard from the other side of the door.

Danny stiffened up at the screams, before quickly coming toward where Tony and Yinsen were.

"Say something. Say something back to him." Tony told him.

"He's speaking Hungarian. I don't-"

"Then speak Hungarian."

Words were exchanged between Yinsen and the man behind the door.

"How'd that work?"

"Oh, my goodness. It worked alright."

"That's what I do. Let me finish this."

"Initialize the power sequence."

"Okay."

"Now!"

"Tell me. Tell me."

"Function 11."

"Tell me when you see a progress bar. It should be up right now."

"Yes."

"Talk to me. Tell me when you see it."

"I have it."

"Press Control "l"."

""I". Got it."

""I" "Enter" "l" and "Enter". Come over here and button me up."

"Okay. All right."

"Every other hex bolt."

"They're coming!" Yinsen warned.

"Nothing pretty, just get it done. Just get it done."

"They're coming." He repeated.

"Make sure the checkpoints are clear before you follow me out, okay?"

"We need more time." He grabbed a gun from one of the fallen men after the door had exploded.

"Hey-"

"I'm gonna go buy you some time."

"Stick to the plan! Stick to the plan! Yinsen!" Tony called out before the power went out and the suit powered up.

Danny frowned. ""Yinsen!" He called out. ""He's gonna get himself killed!" He said to Tony, his frown large.

Tony nodded, though the nod couldn't be seen because of the mask/helmet. He lumbered out of the room, attacking any guards that tried to attack him.

Danny followed behind, fighting any guards that Tony didn't scare off. He was trying to get into his ghost form, but to no avail.

Then, he noticed Yinsen in bags of things. "Yinsen!" Tony exclaimed.

"Watch out!" Yinsen said.

Tony turned around and whacked the guy in the head with his metal arm.

"Stark." Yinsen said.

"Come on. We got to go." Tony said. "Move for me, come on. We got a plan. We're gonna stick to it."

Danny nodded, still trying to transform- with the same results.

"This was always the plan, Stark." Yinsen said weakly.

"Come on, you're gonna go see your family. Get up."

"My family is dead. I'm going to see them now, Stark. It's okay. I want this. I want this." Yinsen said.

"Thank you for saving Danny and I." Tony locked eyes with Yinsen.

"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." Then, he said no more. His eyes were glossy and unmoving, as was his chest.

"Yinsen!" Danny yelled, horrified. His eyes were brighter than before, and filled with rage at the Ten Rings.

One of the men tried to shoot Tony, but the bullet just ricocheted off of the armor.

Tony turned around, glaring hard at the man. "My turn." He said, his voice ice cold. Then, he used a flamethrower.

Danny glared at the guards. "This is all of your guys' fault! All of it! He didn't deserve this!" He yelled, fists clenching. Two white rings formed around his waist- the first time since the accident that he transformed.

They washed over him, his clothing turning into a black and white jumpsuit with a strange symbol on it. He wore white gloves, white boots, a white shirt collar, and a white belt. His skin tanned and he was glowing brightly. His eyes were a toxic green that was glowing brightly. He had hair as white as snow, and he was ticked.

He dove straight at one of the men, throwing him into one of the other men and knocking them both down. He then growled and, without realizing what he was really doing, he threw the two of them into the wall.

"Danny, lets get out of here!" Tony called out. "If we stay any longer, we'll die!"

Danny looked from the two men against the wall, then at Tony, and back at the two men as if trying to decide something. "But they deserve-"

"We might find Rhodey or someone if we get out _**now**_."

Danny frowned, glared at the two men, but stopped his attack. "Fine. Let's leave..." His voice was echoing. "But if I find them again... They are dead." Danny growled out.

Tony lumbered out of the cave and set fire to the weapons they had there. Then, he powered up the rocket boosters.

Danny floated behind, sending any guard he spotted out of his way one way or another.

* * *

Tony and Danny had been in the vast desert for hours. Tony, having long lost the suit after he, sort of, crash landed it, and he used the jacket to cover himself.

Danny was flying overhead, very slowly. He felt like he was about to go unconscious any second, or at least human.

The sound of a helicopter was heard, and then the helicopter was seen.

Tony recognized it a U.S. Army chopper.

"Hey!" Tony yelled.

"How was the 'fun-vee'?" A glad Rhodey asked after he got out of the helicopter to greet Danny and Tony. "Next time, you ride with me, okay? And, next time, don't bring your brother with you. No offense, but active war zones are _not _good for teenagers."

Tony laughed a bit.

Danny landed on the ground, happy to see that they had a rescue party of some sorts.

"Ready to finally go home, Danny?" Tony asked.

He nodded quietly.

* * *

"Are you kidding me with this?" Tony asked after seeing the paramedics. "Get rid of them." He said, waving them away.

Danny looked at the paramedics and rolled his eyes. After he had gotten into the helicopter, he had shifted back, so now he was in his human form. And thinking about what had happened.

Tony walked up to Pepper. "Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss and his brother?" Tony whispered the last part so the media wouldn't get a hold of that information.

"Tears of joy, I hate job hunting." Pepper replied.

"Yeah, vacation's over." Tony said as the tree got into the car, where Happy was waiting.

"Where to, sir?" Happy asked.

Tony looked like he wanted to answer, but Pepper beat him to it.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy."

"No." Tony shook his head.

"No? Tony, you have to go to the hospital."

"No is a complete answer."

"The doctor has to look at you."

"I don't have to do anything. Danny and I have been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do." Tony started. "I want an American cheeseburger, and the other-" Pepper cut him off.

"That's enough of that."

"-Is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."

"Call for a press conference?"

"Tony, why do you want a press conference?" Danny asked.

"Yeah." Tony nodded.

"What on earth for?" Pepper repeated.

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

* * *

"Miss Potts?" A male voice asked as Danny and Pepper were standing in the back of the room.

"Yes?" Pepper asked, turning to see a bald man in a suit.

"Can I speak to you for a moment?" He asked.

"I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now."

"I'm not a reporter." He replied. "I'm agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"Wow, that's quite a mouthful." Pepper replied.

"I know. We're working on it."

"You know, we've been approached already by the D.O.D., the F.B.I., the C.I.A..." She trailed off.

"We're a separate division with a more specific focus." Coulson said. "We need to debrief Mr. Stark and Mr. Fenton about the circumstances of their escape." Then he noticed that Danny was there. "Mr. Fenton, would it be possible for me to debrief you on the circumstances of your escape from the Ten Rings insurgents cave in Afghanistan?"

Danny's eyes widened slightly- he realized what that meant. _Government plus knowledge over strange D.N.A. equals bad stuff... Maybe I should lie. _He thought. "I'd like to have Tony with me if that happened..." He said.

"Is there some connection between you and Mr. Stark that we should know about?" Coulson asked. "Anything you say _will _be kept a secret. We will not release it to the press."

Danny smiled slightly at that. "I'm his younger brother." He said, knowing that being cooperative would be better off for them all.

"We were not made aware of the fact that Mr. Stark had a brother." Phil said.

Before anyone else could say anything, Tony came out. Then he sat down in front of the podium.

"Hey, would it be alright if everyone sat down? Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can..."

All the reporters sat down.

Danny paused and started paying attention to the press conference instead of to Coulson.

"I never got to say goodbye to Dad." Tony started. "I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels." He continued. "I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

"Mr. Stark!" A reported called out.

"Hey, Ben." Tony replied.

"What happened over there?" He asked.

"I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be." Tony said.

Danny's mouth dropped open in shock at Tony's sudden decision- surprised he would make one like that. _What's next? Him quitting his alcohol addiction?_ He wondered.

"I think we're gonna be selling a lot of newspapers. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well." Tony was cut off by Obadiah, who was actually behind the podium and not sitting down.

"What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up." And then the press conference ended.

* * *

Tony was talking to Danny inside a Stark Industries building about his little 'stunt' on national television.

"I'm telling you, it's a good idea. You _saw _what it was like out there. You were _with _me, goddammit!" Tony argued back.

"Yeah, I know what they were like." Danny said. "I was saying I was surprised you did something like that! What's next- you quitting your liquor addiction?" He questioned.

"Okay, that was just uncalled for. I'm not addicted to liquor. Or anything besides working." He said. "And, it's for the good of the world if Stark International closes down weapons manufacturing. We could work on something else. And you could help."

"Yeah. _Right._" Danny sarcastically said to the first part. "Like what?" He asked.

"StarkPhones. And StarkPads. The company could donate to charity. I don't know, but I refuse to make any more weapons. The army wants weapons? Go let 'em take Hammer Tech, for all I care. I know I hate Hammer, but he'll make them weapons. I'll be helping the world in other ways."

Danny nodded. "But what if those stupid Ten Rings come after Hammer Tech? Or us again?" He questioned- eyes blazing at the thought of seeing the Ten Rings again, and the thought of them kidnapping someone else.

"We all know how bad Hammer Tech is." Tony pointed out. "And I already have a plan for that. The suit." Tony said. Before he could continue, however, Obadiah came in.

"Well, that... That went well." He said.

"Did I just paint a target on the back of my head?" Tony asked.

"You're head?" Obadiah asked. "What about my head? What do you think the over-under on the stock drop is gonna be tomorrow?"

"Optimistically, 40 points."

"At minimum."

"Yep."

"Tony, we're a weapons manufacturer."

"Obie, I just don't want a body count to be our only legacy."

"That's what we do. We're ironmongers. We make weapons."

"You make destruction." Danny said, arms crossed. "One of the bombs almost killed Tony, and it was one S.I. produced."

"See, Obie, Danny knows." Tony said. "And it's mine- I mean our- name on the side of the building. If I'm leaving the company for Danny to control one day, I don't want weapons to be in the name."

"And what we do keeps the world from falling into chaos." Obadiah pointed out to both of them.

"Not based on what I saw. We're not doing a good enough job. We can do better. We're gonna do something else." Tony said.

"Wait, what!?" Danny said, finally realizing what Tony had meant.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you that. Unless I have kids, which I'm not planning to do any time soon, you're next in line to become C.E.O. of Stark Industries." Tony explained.

Danny's eyes grew in shock.

"Like what? You want us to make baby bottles?" Obie said, ignoring the conversation about Danny becoming C.E.O. of S.I..

"I think we should take another look into arc reactor technology." Tony offered.

"Come on. The arc reactor, that's a publicity stunt!" Obie knew that Tony wasn't going to give up yet. "Tony, come on. We built that thing to shut the hippies up!" He pointed out.

"It works." Tony stated bluntly.

"Yeah, as a science project." Obie was exasperated by this point. "The arc was never cost effective. We knew that before we built it. Arc reactor technology, that's a dead end, right?" He asked.

"Maybe." Tony answered.

"Am I right? We haven't had a breakthrough in that in what?"

"Thirty years." Tony stopped pretending now. "Could you have a lousier poker face? Just tell me, who told you?"

"Never mind who told me. Show me."

"It's Rhodey or Pepper."

"I want to see it."

"Okay, Rhodey." Tony sighed and unbuttoned his shirt with the arm that _wasn't _in a sling. "It works." He stated.

Obadiah tried to cover it up. "Listen to me, Tony. We're a team. Do you understand? There's nothing we can't do if we stick together, like your father and I."

"I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads-up, okay? But if I had-"

"Tony." Obie started. "Tony, no more of this "ready, fire, aim" business. You understand me?"

"That was dad's line."

"It wasn't a 'think long about it' decision, though. It was a 'life or death' one." Danny said, trying to keep his eyes blue.

"Yeah. It was either make the Arc Reactor, or lug around a car battery until I _died_." Tony added, agreeing with Danny. "That car battery wouldn't have lasted long."

Danny sighed. "Yeah... If it were me, I would have chose the first, too." He mumbled.

"You gotta let me handle this. We're gonna have to play a whole different kind of ball now. We're going to have to take a lot of heat." Obadiah said. "I want you to promise me that you're gonna lay low."

* * *

While Tony was in the workshop doing God-knows-what, Pepper and Danny were watching T.V. upstairs.

"Stark Industries! I've got one recommendation! Ready? Ready? Sell, sell, sell!" The guy on T.V. said. A camera pointed at a Stark Industries coffee mug, and the guy was holding a mallet. "Abandon ship! Does the Hindenburg ring any bells? Let me show you the new Stark Industries business plan!" Then he hit the mug with the mallet, breaking it into thousands of pieces. "Look, that's a weapons company that doesn't make weapons!" Then, Pepper muted the T.V..

A few minutes later, Tony's voice could be heard, presumably he was transmitting to Pepper through J.A.R.V.I.S.. "_Pepper. How big are your hands?_" He asked.

"What?"

"_How big are your hands?_"

"I don't understand why-"

"_Get down here, I need you._"

Danny was beginning to wonder whether Tony was flat out insane, or if he managed to get into any more alcohol.

Pepper sighed and went down to the workshop. What she saw scared her. It was Tony, laying down on a table, his shirt taken off, and the Arc Reactor out of his hands. Though, he did have another one in his other hand.

Pepper walked over to him. "Hey. Let's see them. Show me your hands. Let's see them." Pepper showed him her hands. "Oh, wow. They are small. Very petite, indeed. I just need your help for a sec." He said.

"Oh, my God, is that the thing that's keeping you alive?" Pepper asked, pointing to the old Arc Reactor.

"It was. It is now an antique." Tony said. Then he held up the newer one. "This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I'm swapping it up for an upgraded unit, and I just ran into a little speed bump."

"Speed bump? What does that mean?"

"It's nothing. It's just a little snag." He said. "There's an exposed wire under this device. And it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short." Pepper looked like she was freaking out. "It's fine."

"What do you want me to do?" She asked.

"Put that on the table over there." He said, talking about the old Arc Reactor. "That's irrelevant. I want you to reach in, and you're just gonna gently lift the wire out."

"Is it safe?"

"Yeah, it should be fine. It's like Operation. You just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes 'beep'."

Pepper looked slightly scared and slightly confused. "What do you mean 'Operation'?"

"It's a game, never mind." Tony sighed. "Just gently lift the wire. Okay? Great."

"You know, I don't think that I'm qualified to do this." Pepper tried to back out.

"No, you're fine. You're the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met. You're gonna do great." Tony encouraged.

Pepper nodded and steeled herself, reaching in to grab the wire. "Oh, there's pus!" She said, mostly grossed out.

"It's not pus. It's an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body."

"It smells!"

"Yeah, it does. The copper wire." He said. "The copper wire, you got it?" He repeated.

"Okay, I got it! I got it!"

"Okay, you got it? Now, don't let it touch the sides," Tony's voice started to change as Pepper messed up a bit. "When you're coming out!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She apologized.

"Okay, now make sure that when you pull it out, you don't-"

"There's a magnet at the end of it!" She said after pulling the whole thing out.

"That was it. You just pulled it out."

"Oh, God!"

"Okay, I was not expecting-" Pepper tried to put it back in, but Tony stopped her. "Don't put it back in! Don't put it back in!"

"Okay, what do I do?" Pepper noticed his breathing became heavier. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest 'cause you yanked it out like a trout-"

"What? You said this was safe!"

"We gotta hurry. Take this. Take this. You gotta switch it out really quick."

"Okay. Okay. Tony?"

"It's going to be okay."

"Is it?"

"It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna make this okay."

"Let's hope."

"Okay, you're gonna attach that to the base plate. Make sure you-" Pepper did was she was supposed to do. "Was that so hard? That was fun, right? Here, I got it. I got it. Here."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I feel great. You okay?"

"Don't ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again." Pepper laughed a bit. "Anyway, what do you want me to do with this?" She had picked up the old Arc Reactor.

"That? Destroy it. Incinerate it." Tony said.

"You don't want to keep it?" Pepper asked.

"Pepper, I've been called many things. 'Nostalgic' is not one of them."

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"That will be all, Miss Potts."

The two made their way upstairs, where Danny was waiting.

He looked at them. "Um, what were you doing down there?" He questioned.

"Oh. We just played a bit of 'Operation' on my body. Pepper lost the game." Tony answered.

"What!? You let her give you surgery?" Danny questioned.

"No. We were switching out the Arc Reactor and I had a little snag. She pulled out the wire, and a magnet. And then I went into cardiac arrest." Tony replied.

His eyes went wide. "How are you acting like that's nothing!?" Danny questioned.

"I'm fine now, right?"

Danny sighed. "I see how we're related..." He muttered.

Tony shook his head. "Danny, wanna see what I'm planning on working on?"

He nodded slowly, a bit unsure.

Tony smiled. "To the workshop! Again!" He said, going back down to the workshop.

Danny rolled his eyes, and went intangibly through the floor in an effort to get to the room first.

Tony reached the workshop after Danny. "Ready to see it?" Tony said.

Danny nodded. "Yep."

"J.A.R.V.I.S., pull of the specs for the Mark II."

"_As you wish, sir._" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied, pulling up a holographic picture of a suit, just like the one they used to get out of the cave, but slimmer and more advanced.

"That suit?" Danny said, surprised.

Tony nodded. "I'm calling it the Mark II. It can fly, shoot missiles, and much more."

Danny grinned. "Sweet. I'm betting this is the exception for the 'no more weapons' rule." He commented, with a smile.

Tony nodded. "And I'm going to use it to destroy all the weapons in the hands of terrorists."

He nodded. "Good."

"And once that's done, I might even decide to use the suit to help people." Tony said. "Or I might just lock it away for good."

"That is, after you build it." Danny commented.

Tony nodded. "And test it."

* * *

Tony had been in the living room, working on the diagram for the Mark II, when it happened.

"_Mr. Stark, you have a phone call from a Mrs. Fenton. Would you like to answer it?_" J.A.R.V.I.S. asked.

Tony sighed. "Yes. Patch her through, J.A.R.V.I.S." He replied.

"_Anthony Edward Stark, what were you thinking! Bringing Danny to an active war zone!_" Maddie said angrily as soon as the call was patched through.

"God, are you somehow my mother?" Tony tried to joke, but failed. "There was no other choice-"

"_And then you were both kidnapped! For three months!_"

"I had no other choice but to bring him! Pepper had plans for the rest of the week, Happy was on vacation, and Obie had S.I. to deal with while I was gone!"

"_You could have-_"

"I could have what? Gotten a babysitter? No." Tony argued. "Besides, I learned my lesson. A lot of them, actually."

"_And what did you learn?_"

"Don't bring family to an active war zone, don't bring your brother to an active war zone, don't bring a teenager to an active war zone, don't give weapons to terrorists, and don't make weapons."

"_Wait. 'Don't make weapons'? What do you mean?_"

"You didn't see the press conference?" Tony asked. "J.A.R.V.I.S., replay the audio." He told the A.I.

"_As you wish, sir." _J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. "_Hey, would it be alright if everyone sat down? Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can..._ _I never got to say goodbye to Dad. I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a __system that is comfortable with zero accountability._'

"_Mr. Stark!_'

"_Hey, Ben._'

"_What happened over there?_'

"_I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be._ _I think we're gonna be selling a lot of newspapers. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well._'

"_What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up._'

"If that's all you wanted to talk about, I have work to do. J.A.R.V.I.S., end call."

"_As you wish, sir._"

* * *

Danny and Tony were in the workshop, since Tony wanted Danny there in case anything went wrong. Butterfingers, You, Dummy, and J.A.R.V.I.S. could only do so much, anyways.

"Okay, let's do this right. Start mark, half a meter, and back and center. Dummy, look alive. You're on standby for fire safety." Tony started. "You, roll it. Okay. Activate hand controls. We're gonna start off nice and easy." He continued. "We're gonna see if 10% thrust capacity achieves lift. And three, two, one." Tony lifted off into the air, then he hit the ceiling and fell to the floor. Then, Dummy proceeded to spray him with the fire extinguisher.

Danny's eyes widened in excitement, glowing slightly. He then frowned, trying not to laugh.

Tony was in the lab, working on something on his arm, when Pepper came in and saw what he was doing.

"I've been buzzing you. Did you hear the intercom?" She asked.

"Yeah, everything's... What?"

"Obadiah's upstairs."

"Great!" Tony smiled.

"What would you like me to tell him?"

"I'll be right up."

"Okay." Pepper nodded. "I thought you said you were done making weapons."

"I am. This is a flight stabilizer. It's completely harmless." He then proceeded to shoot something with it on accident. "I didn't expect that."

Danny came downstairs. "He's getting impatient." He said, before pausing. "And he has pizza." He added on.

Tony nodded and took his arm out of the flight stabilizer. "It should be done soon." He reported. "Just need to finish the insides then put it all together and get something to cover it all."

Danny nodded.

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked.

"I'll tell you later." Tony replied.

Danny smirked slightly. "Lovebirds..." He muttered quietly.

Tony smiled.

* * *

Tony left the workshop, followed by Pepper and Danny. Obadiah was on the piano, playing a song. "So, how'd it go?" He asked, then he noticed the box of pizza. "It went that bad, huh?"

"Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad."

"Sure doesn't." Tony rolled his eyes.

"It would have gone better if you were there."

"You told me to lay low. That's what I've been doing. I lay low, and you take care of all-"

"Hey, come on. In public. The press." Obie pointed out. "This was a board of directors meeting."

"This was a board of directors meeting?"

"The board is claiming you have post-traumatic stress. They're filing an injunction."

"A what?"

"They want to lock you out."

"Why, 'cause the stocks dipped 40 points? We knew that was gonna happen."

"Fifty-six and a half."

"It doesn't matter. We own the controlling interest in the company."

"Tony, the board has rights, too. They're making the case that you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest."

"I'm being responsible! That's a new direction for me, for the company. I mean, me on the company's behalf being responsible for the way that-"

"Oh, come on. Tony. Tony."

"I'll be in the shop." Tony said with the box of pizza. Before he could leave, however, Obadiah put a hand on Tony's shoulder.

Danny frowned, not really understanding the whole situation- but he could tell what they meant for the most part. "Maybe if you can prove to the board that you don't have P.T.S.D., they'll stop the injun- whatever it is." He said.

Tony sighed. "Danny, I have a lot to teach you about the assclowns that are the board of directors." He said. "They won't stop. They've always wanted to find a reason to lock me out."

"You're the owner of the company. Well, C.E.O.. Aren't you higher than them or something in the employment ranks? That's what C.E.O. means... Right?" He replied.

"Well, yes but they oversee everything. If they think something's wrong, they'll point it out. Taking S.I. out of the weapons market was something that they pointed out. And what happened in Afghanistan gives them a good reason to think that I have P.T.S.D., even though I don't want to agree with them."

Obadiah decided to butt in then. "Hey, hey! Hey, Tony. Listen." He started. "I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you gotta give me something. Something to pitch them. Let me have the engineers analyze that. You know, draw up some specs."

Tony quickly went on the defensive. "No. No, absolutely not."

"It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York!"

"This one stays with me. That's it, Obie. Forget it."

"All right, well, this stays with me, then." Obie took the box of pizza from Tony. "Go on, here, you can have a piece. Take two."

"Thank you."

"You mind if I come down there and see what you're doing?"

"Good night, Obie."

"So, kid. What are you going to do after college?" Obadiah tried to strike up a conversation with Danny.

"Not sure yet. I'm still only a freshman..." Danny said.

"Is becoming C.E.O. of S.I. on your mind?" He asked.

Danny paused, then nodded.

* * *

"Day 11, Test 37, Configuration 2.0. For lack of a better option, Dummy is still on fire safety." He turned to the aforementioned robot/A.I. "If you douse me again, and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college. Seriously, we're just gonna start off with 1% thrust capacity. And three... two... one." Tony lifted off, this time not hitting anything. When he landed, Dummy raised his arm hopefully. "Please don't follow me around with it either because I feel like I'm going to catch on fire spontaneously. Just stand down. If something happens, then come in."

"And again, let's bring it up to 2.5. Three, two, one." Tony flew up again, and started to hover over his cars. "Okay, this is where I don't want to be! Not the car, not the car! Table! Could be worse! Could be worse! We're fine! Okay. No!" Tony then landed. "Yeah, I can fly." He said before getting sprayed by Dummy again.

Danny smiled. "It's about time, too." He commented.

* * *

Tony finally had the suit ready. It was a shiny silver.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., are you there?"

"_At your service, sir._"

"Engage Heads Up Display. Import all preferences from home interface."

"_Will do, sir._"

"All right, what do you say?"

"_I have indeed been uploaded, sir. We're online and ready._"

"Can we start the virtual walk-around?"

"_Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment._"

"Do a check on control surfaces."

"_As you wish._" J.A.R.V.I.S. was quiet for a few minutes. "_Test complete. Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics._"

"Yeah. Tell you what. Do a weather and A.T.C. check. Start listening in on ground control."

"_Sir, there are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is-_"

"J.A.R.V.I.S.! Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk." Tony said. Then he tapped into the speakers in Danny's room. "Hey, Danny. Want to go for a flight? Suit's ready and I'm itching to take it for a spin. If you want to, come down to the workshop."

* * *

Danny grinned- so far, he'd only transformed once since the whole incident with the Ten Rings when he had flew around the mansion- he was ready for another flight. He was still a bit wary of his ghost self, but flying always seemed to make everything seem better. He quickly dove through the ground and into the workshop.

* * *

Tony smiled behind his mask when he saw Danny. "Ready?" He asked.

Danny closed his eyes, reaching for the coldness inside of him. White rings formed around his waist and transformed him, and he looked up, opening his eyes to show their electric green color. "Ready." He said, voice echoing slightly.

Tony powered up his boosters in his feet and the flight stabilizer in his hand. He shot out of the workshop through the 'garage', which was really just a hole in the wall leading up to the surface.

Danny quickly followed after him, smirking slightly. He was feeling a bit competitive at the moment. "Wanna race?" He questioned Tony.

"Bring it on." Tony said, the smirk he was wearing behind his mask evident in the tone of his voice.

"Okay." Danny said, pushing forward in his speed.

"Handles like a dream." Tony noted. "All right, let's see what this thing can do." He said, going faster. "What's SR-71's record?"

"_The altitude record for fixed wing flight is 85,000 feet, sir._" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.

"Records are made to be broken! Come on!" The suit started to build up with ice as Tony pushed higher.

Danny noticed Tony's change of altitude, and was about to fly up there when he froze up and coughed out a light blue mist.

"_Sir, there is a potentially fatal buildup of ice occurring._"

"Keep going! Higher!" He pushed, then he noticed the ice. "We iced up, J.A.R.V.I.S.! Deploy flaps! J.A.R.V.I.S.!" Tony started to fall, but he also started to break the ice around the flaps. "Come on, we got to break the ice!"

Danny let out another cough, followed by the light blue mist. "What the heck!?" He questioned, more mist coming out of his mouth.

Tony finally gained control again and went down to go see Danny. "You alright?" He asked.

Danny was about to answer when the blue mist came out again. "I'm- I'm not sure..." He answered

Meanwhile, a small swirling portal was above a nearby building... And quite a few creatures managed to squeeze out before the portal closed. A green octopus-like creature was the closest to Danny and Tony- and it shrieked.

Danny stiffened up, and looked toward the direction the shriek came from. "What was that!?"

"J.A.R.V.I.S., scan the area." Tony told the A.I.

"_There seems to be some ectoplasmic entity in the area, sir._" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.

"It's a ghost." Tony said. "Also, we should get you something so you can connect with J.A.R.V.I.S. and myself when you need it."

Danny nodded. "Another ghost..." He mumbled. "I heard the shrieking coming from over there." He mumbled, jetting off in that direction.

Tony followed Danny, hoping none of them would phase through him, since he didn't want to find out what _that _would do to the Arc Reactor, though J.A.R.V.I.S. said it had something to do with explosions...

The octopus-like ghost shrieked again, louder this time. Danny pushed on further to see the creature, and his eyes widened at the sight of the ghost.

Tony muttered some foul language after seeing the ghost, knowing that nothing he had could actually hurt it.

"Nice... Octopus... Thing." Danny said, eyes wide. It shrieked, and dove at him.

Danny quickly turned intangible, and the creature shrieked once more. He was trying to figure out how to beat it. "How am I supposed to hurt this thing? And how am I supposed to get rid of it!?" He questioned, trying to avoid the creature as it lunged at him.

"You should be able to touch it or attack it or something." Tony said.

Danny frowned- he was no expert with fighting moves.

_A flash of him throwing the two men into the wall went through his mind. An image of his ghost self appeared, with bloodthirsty eyes. _

The same bloodthirsty look that was in this creature's eyes. He knew it wanted bloodshed. Danny's eyes narrowed in determination- he wasn't going to let anyone who didn't deserve it to be hurt. Even if he wasn't a master fighter, he could still fight. He was the _only one_ that could fight.

The next time it lunged at him, he dove down then grabbed onto a stray tentacle and yanked it back, throwing it over his shoulder. It let out a yelp of pain, and whipped its other tentacles at him.

Danny was forced to let go, and he was pushed backward.

The creature narrowed its eyes at him, quite ticked at the fact that Danny could harm it. It shrieked with anger.

"You shriek too much." Danny commented, before lunging at it himself. It was shocked- and Danny managed to punch the creature and send it flying back.

It yelped again, whipping at Danny again.

He rolled his eyes- now, his ghost self was in control. And 'he' was simply annoyed at the other ghost. "Stay. Away. From. Here." Danny spoke, voice deeper and echoing. He lunged again, and the creature was smart enough to create a giant green mist and flee.

_Coward. _Danny thought, the danger now over as the mist cleared.

"Okay. So we know you can fight ghosts like a pro." Tony said after the shock finally subsided.

Danny nodded at that.

* * *

Tony was back in his workshop, working on his suit with the T.V. on as background noise. Danny, for all Tony knew, was asleep.

Tony and J.A.R.V.I.S. had been talking about the suit when the T.V. caught his attention.

"_Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society._" The lady said.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., we get an invite for that?" Tony asked, still looking at the T.V.

"_I have no record of an invitation, sir._" J.A.R.V.I.S. answered.

"_-hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference._" A picture of Tony from that press conference was shown before going back to the lady. "_Some claim he's suffering from posttraumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from him tonight._"

"_The render is complete._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said after the reporter was finished speaking, since Tony had turned off the T.V.

"A little ostentatious, don't you think?" Tony asked as he looked at the full gold holographic suit in front of him.

"_What was I thinking? You're usually so discreet._" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied, British voice filled with sarcasm.

"Tell you what. Throw a little hot-rod red in there." Tony offered.

"_Yes, that should help you keep a low profile._" More sarcasm from the British-accented A.I. butler. "_The render is complete._"

"Hey, I like it. Fabricate it. Paint it." Tony said, looking at the now red-and-gold suit.

"_Commencing automated assembly. Estimated completion time is five hours._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said.

Tony got up to go into one of his cars. "Don't wait up for me, honey." He said jokingly. "And if Danny asks where I am, tell him I'm out and I won't be back until later on."

* * *

Danny had tried to sleep, he really did, but after three hours of sleep and two hours of tossing and turning, he had decided to walk around for a bit.

That is how he found his way to the kitchen, and noticed that the whole house seemed devoid of it's usual hustle and bustle.

"J.A.R.V.I.S.?" The raven haired teen asked cautiously.

"_Yes, Mr. Fenton?_" The ever-present J.A.R.V.I.S. answered.

"Where's Tony?" He answered.

"_Mr. Stark left for his third annual Firefighter's Family Fund at the Disney Concert Hall in Los __Angeles thirty minutes ago and is not expected to return for quite some time._" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. "_Would you like for me to call him?_"

Danny shook his head. "No, that's okay." He answered. Then, he opened the fridge to get some soda when J.A.R.V.I.S. was heard again.

"_Mr. Fenton, I require your assistance in the workshop. It seems that Dummy, Butterfingers, and You have gotten into trouble and are not listening to me._"

Danny laughed and shook his head at the three bot's antics before closing the door to the fridge. He then went down to the lab.

* * *

Tony had just pulled up to the Disney Concert Hall and had just seen Obadiah.

"Weapons manufacturing is only one small part of what Stark Industries is all about, and our partnership with the fire and rescue community..." Obie trailed off.

"Hey, Tony, remember me?" One man asked Tony as he made his way to Obie.

"Sure don't." Tony replied. "You look great, Hef." He said to another man.

"We're going to have a great quarter." Obadiah ended. Then, he noticed Tony and walked over to him.

"What's the world coming to when a guy's got to crash his own party?" Tony asked.

"Look at you. Hey, what a surprise." Obie said with a smile.

Tony noticed Pepper and his hormones started raging. "I'll see you inside."

"Hey. Listen, take it slow, all right?" Obie said, stopping Tony by putting a hand on his shoulder. "I think I got the board right where we want them."

"You got it." Tony nodded. "Just cabin fever." Tony saw Pepper again, in that backless dress. "I'll just be a minute." He walked into the Concert Hall, but he lost sight of Pepper, so he sighed and went to the bar.

"Give me a Scotch, I'm starving." Tony told the barkeep, passing him some money.

"Mr. Stark." A male voice said and Tony turned around to see a man in a suit.

"Yeah?" Tony asked.

"Agent Coulson." He answered.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The guy from the-"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." Coulson offered for Tony.

"God, you need a new name for that." Tony sighed.

"Yeah, I hear that a lot." Coulson agreed. "Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you and your 'brother'." He said, not really believing that Danny and Tony were brothers. "There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things." He explained.

"Let's just put something on the books." Tony said, still looking for Pepper.

"How about the 24th at 7:00 P.M. at Stark Industries?" Coulson offered.

"Tell you what. You got it. You're absolutely right." Tony nodded, finally catching Pepper again. "Well, I'm going to go to my assistant, and we'll make a date." He said, getting up and walking over to meet Pepper.

"You look fantastic! I didn't recognize you." Tony exclaimed.

"What are you doing here?" Pepper asked, clearly taken aback by Tony's appearance at the Fund.

"Just avoiding government agents." He replied, motioning to Coulson.

"Are you by yourself?" She asked.

"Yes. Where'd you get that dress?" Tony asked, really liking the dress she was currently in.

"Oh, it was a birthday present." Pepper answered.

"That's great." Tony smiled.

"From you, actually." She added.

"Well, I got great taste." He said.

"Yes." She nodded.

"You want to dance?" Tony asked.

"Oh, no."

"All right, come on." Tony ignored her.

"Thank you. No."

He ignored her, taking her hand to dance with her.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" He asked.

"No. No. I always forget to wear deodorant and dance with my boss in front of everyone that I work with in a dress with no back." Pepper said sarcastically.

"You look great and you smell great." Tony smiled again.

"Oh, God." Pepper muttered.

"But I could fire you if that would take the edge off." He offered.

"I actually don't think that you could tie your shoes without me." Pepper challenged.

"I'd make it a week. Sure." Tony shrugged.

"Really?" She asked in a 'seriously' kind of tone. "What's your Social Security number?"

"Five." Tony replied.

"Five?" She asked.

"Right." Tony nodded.

"You're missing just a couple of digits there." Pepper laughed a bit.

"The other eight? So I got you for the other eight." Tony said, making her smile awkwardly. "How about a little air?"

"Yes, I need some air." Pepper agreed and Tony led her to the abandoned balcony. "That was totally weird." She said once they were alone.

"Totally harmless." Tony replied.

"It was totally not harmless, by the way."

"We're dancing. No one's even watching."

"Everybody who I work with-"

"No, you know why? I think you lost objectivity. I think they just... People... We just danced."

"No, it was not just a dance. You don't understand because you're you. And everybody knows exactly who you are and how you are with girls and all of that, which is completely fine. But, you know, then me, you're my boss, and I'm dancing with you." Pepper explained.

"I don't think it was taken that way." He pointed out.

"Because it makes me look like the one who's trying to-"

"I just think you're overstating it."

"You know, and we're here, and then I'm wearing this ridiculous dress, and then we were dancing like that and..." Pepper stopped. "I would like a drink, please."

"Got it, okay." Tony nodded.

"I would like a vodka martini, please."

"Okay." Tony nodded again.

"Very dry with olives, a lot of olives. Like, at least three olives."

Tony nodded once more before going out to get the drinks.

"Two vodka martinis, extra dry, extra olives, extra fast. Make one of them dirty, will you?" He told the barkeep, giving him more money.

"Wow. Tony Stark." A familiar voice said.

"Oh, hey."

"Fancy seeing you here." The blonde said.

"Carrie." Tony tried.

"Christine." She corrected.

"That's right." He nodded.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here tonight. Can I at least get a reaction from you?" She asked.

"Panic. I would say panic is my reaction."

"'Cause I was referring to your company's involvement in this latest atrocity." She continued.

"Yeah. They just put my name on the invitation. I don't know what to tell you."

"I actually almost bought it, hook, line and sinker." She searched through her bag for something.

"I was out of town for a couple months, in case you didn't hear." He pointed out.

"Is this what you call accountability?" She handed some pictures to Tony. "It's a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?" She asked.

"When were these taken?" He demanded.

"Yesterday." She answered.

"I didn't approve any shipment." He muttered.

"Well, your company did." She pointed out.

"Well, I'm not my company." He retorted before forgetting all about the drinks, opting to go home to rest, planning to go talk to Stane tomorrow.

* * *

Going down to his workshop, he was met with Danny trying to stop Dummy, Butterfingers, and You from doing something.

Parking the car got the three A.I.'s to stop, and for Danny to look.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be back until later?" Danny asked.

"Change of plans. Getting ready then I'm going to go talk to Obie tomorrow. Also, I'm gonna go take the suit out for a little trip to Gulmira."

"Gulmira... Isn't that where Yinsen said he was from?" Danny asked.

Tony just nodded, handing him the pictures. "Someone's been double-dealing with my old weapons. And I intend to stop them."

Danny nodded. "Who could have done something like this?"

Tony shook his head. "Someone high up." He said, then he went through a list of people he could think of who were high up. "Now we know I didn't do it, since I'm just fucking pissed off at this. Pepper couldn't have; she isn't like that. I can agree that Obie is a little tough, but he's also caring. He wouldn't have done this..." He trailed off, going off to go do whatever it was that he needed to do.

* * *

Tony never got to go to Obie's office that morning, as Obie stopped by the house at ten, when Tony had just woken up.

Seeing Obie had woken Tony up like five cups of coffee. "Have you seen these pictures?" Tony asked, showing Obie the pictures. "What's going on in Gulmira?"

"Tony, Tony." Obadiah sighed. "You can't afford to be this naive."

"You know what? I was naive before, when they said, 'Here's the line. We don't cross it. This is how we do business'. If we're double-dealing under the table-"

"Are we?" Stane asked as they entered the kitchen, where Danny was grabbing some food. "Tony. Who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you." Tony started to make his coffee, though he started shaking his head. "It was the only way I could protect you."

"No. No." Tony had muttered.

Then he had promptly said, "Get the fuck out of my house, Obadiah. I have work to do."

And Stane had left.

"Wait... He locked you out!?" Danny exclaimed, eyes blazing green with fury.

Tony nodded. "Locked me out, filed the injunction, whatever you want to call it."

* * *

"_The 15-mile hike to the outskirts of Gulmira can only be described as a descent into hell, into a modern day Heart of Darkness. Simple farmers and herders from peaceful villages have been driven from their homes, displaced from their lands by warlords emboldened by a new-found power. __Villagers have been forced to take shelter in whatever crude dwellings they can find in the ruins of other villages, or here in the remnants of an old Soviet smelting plant. Recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign fighters referred to by locals as the Ten Rings. As you can see, these men are heavily armed and on a mission. A mission that could prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way. With no political will or international pressure, there's very little hope for these refugees. Around me, a woman begging for news on her husband, who was kidnapped by insurgents, either forced to join their militia-_" Tony ignored the T.V., thinking about what he should do. Both with Stane, and this. "_Desperate refugees clutch yellowed photographs, holding them up to anyone who will stop. A child's simple question, 'Where are my mother and father?' There's very little hope for these refugees, refugees who can only wonder who, if anyone, will help._"

Danny walked into the room, having heard every single word of the television program. His eyes were narrowed, and glowing a sharp green. "We will." He answered, knowing the television couldn't hear him.

Tony got up, and he shook his head. "No, Danny." He said. "_I_ will. I told your mother that a few lessons I learned were 'Don't bring family to an active war zone, don't bring your brother to an active war zone, don't bring a teenager to an active war zone, don't give weapons to terrorists, and don't make weapons.'" He said. "Note the first three involve active war zones, and the first two involve people close to me." He continued. "Besides, do you _know _who's weapons they have? They're Stark Industries..." Tony froze. "Whoever is double-dealing under the table is giving those weapons to terrorists. The Ten_ fucking _Rings no less." He said, voice as cold as ice.

"I know. Which is why I have to help." He said, eyes narrowed. "Remember what you said about that ghost we fought earlier? Your weapons couldn't hurt it." He paused. "I'm a ghost. If I transform... I don't think the weapons could harm me, either." He pointed out.

"I know that. But what if you transformed back or something?" Tony asked. "Besides, I have something you can do."

"What would that be?" Danny asked, arms crossed.

"Go check on Stane." Tony said. "See what he's doing."

"Where is he?" Danny questioned.

"Probably the office."

Danny nodded, and went in that direction. He still wanted to go to Gulmira. _I swear if Tony doesn't let me go with him, I'll go on my own... _He thought as he went. He turned invisible as he headed toward the office.

Tony went to go put the suit on, planning on destroying all of his weapons that were there. Once it was done assembling, he took off with only one place in mind. Gulmira.

Danny abruptly paused, hearing the suit. "He's leaving without me..." He muttered, quickly transforming. Still invisible, he forgot the check-on-Stane mission and jetted off after Tony.

* * *

Tony had just finished battling against some of the Ten Rings insurgents. He saw one of his tanks and angrily set off to make it blow up.

Danny was nearby, still invisible. He was taking out some insurgents, smirking slightly as they couldn't see where he was.

Tony sent off a small missile as a present for the tanks, and he walked away, dramatically, as they exploded.

Danny smirked further, as he invisibly flipped a man over.

Tony noticed this and stared harder at where Danny was, as if he could see him.

Danny realized that Tony was looking in his direction, and he tried to move over and flip more people.

Tony shrugged it off and grabbed onto one of the men, throwing him towards the residents of the town. "He's all yours." He said.

Danny grinned, but realized his invisibility probably wouldn't last much longer. "Crud." He muttered under his breath, as he threw a man into another man. He felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Tony took off like a bullet, wanting to get home soon.

Danny realized that Tony was the only one who knew the way home, so he quickly followed after him- hoping his invisibility would last him.

While Tony was flying, his phone rang. "Hello?" He asked.

"_Tony?_" Rhodey replied.

"Who's this?" Tony asked, not being able to hear his friend well.

"_It's Rhodes._"

"Sorry, hello?"

"_I said it's Rhodes._"

"Speak up, please."

"_What in the hell is that noise?_"

"Oh, yeah, I'm driving with the top down." Tony lied.

"_Yeah, well, I need your help right now._"

"It's funny how that works, huh?"

"_Yeah. Speaking of funny, we've got a weapons depot that was just blown up a few clicks from where you were being held captive._"

"Well, that's a hot spot." Tony replied. "Sounds like someone stepped in and did your job for you, huh?"

"_Why do you sound out of breath, Tony?_" Rhodey asked, worried.

"I'm not, I was just jogging in the canyon." Tony lied again.

"_I thought you were driving._" Rhodey questioned.

"Right, I was driving to the canyon, where I'm going to jog." He lied yet again.

"_You sure you don't have any tech in that area I should know about?_"

"Nope!" Tony dodged two F-22's.

"_Okay, good, 'cause I'm staring at one right now, and it's about to be blown to kingdom come._"

"That's my exit." Tony hung up so then he could dodge the attempts on his life by the F-22's.

Danny frowned. Stopping, he looked around to see where the F-22's were. He frowned, and went closer to Tony while wondering who sent the fighter jets. Just then, his invisibility decided to fail. "Ah, crud." He muttered.

Tony turned around to see Danny. "Danny, I told you to stay at the house!" He said.

"No... You said that _you _weren't taking me to an active war zone." He replied.

"So why did you come?"

"I felt like helping." He answered.

"Do you know how much trouble I'm gonna be in when your mother finds out?" He asked. "Not to mention I was trying to protect you from something like this." He dodged one of the F-22's.

He shrugged. "It was my fault." He stated. "Not yours." He stated, dodging an F-22.

"Tony Stark as a role model. Never going to work out at this rate." He muttered.

Danny laughed a little bit. "Of course it isn't. You're Tony." He stated.

"But trying to be a good role model is a good idea." Tony pointed out.

"You still have a long way to go." Danny pointed out.

"Whatever." Tony said. "Just promise me you won't do this again."

"I'll _try_ not to." He answered.

Tony sighed. "One minute." He said. He called Rhodey again.

"_Hello?_" Rhodey asked.

"Hi, Rhodey, it's me."

"_It's who?_"

"I'm sorry, it is me." Tony apologized. "You asked. What you were asking about is me."

"_No, see, this isn't a game._" Rhodey started. "_You do not send civilian equipment into my active war zone. You understand that?_"

"This is not a piece of equipment." Tony stated. "I'm in it. It's a suit. It's me!"

* * *

All was said and done after a few hours. So now Rhodey, Danny, and, of course, Tony knew about the suits.

Tony was in his workshop, trying to get his suit off with his bots help, and Danny's laughing, which really annoyed Tony.

"Hey!" Tony cried out.

"_It is a tight fit, sir._" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. "_Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt._"

"Be gentle. This is my first time." He said. "I designed this to come off, so- Hey!" Tony exclaimed. "I really should be able to-"

"_Please, try not to move, sir._"

At that moment, Pepper decided to come down to see what was going on. Tony in a red-and-gold suit of metal armor with Dummy, Butterfingers, You, and some other robots trying to get it off of him. And she also noticed Danny laughing at Tony.

She stared in shock at the scene unfolding before her. She finally found her voice. "What is going on here?" She asked, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing." He said. "The worst thing was-" To prevent him from speaking another word, Pepper walked up to him and smacked him upside the head. Then, she inspected the armor.

"Are those... Bullet holes?" She asked, horror etched in her face.

* * *

Tony was in his workshop, finishing up the plans for something. He had finished that earpiece for Danny and had given it to the raven-haired boy.

Tony, also, had gotten Danny to at least go into his room about an hour ago. Tony needed planning time. And he needed Pepper to help him with something.

"Hey. You busy?" He asked her. "You mind if I send you on an errand?" He continued. "I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests. This is a lock chip. This'll get you in." He explained. "It's probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading."

"And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?" Pepper asked.

"Same drill." He replied. "They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."

"Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again." She sighed.

"There is nothing except this. There's no art opening. There is no benefit. There is nothing to sign. There is the next mission and nothing else." He told her.

"Is that so? Well, then, I quit." There was a look of shock and hurt in Tony's eyes when she said those two words.

"You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction. And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?" He asked.

"You're going to kill yourself, Tony. I'm not going to be a part of it." She replied, heading for the door.

"I shouldn't be alive." He said aloud, so then she could hear it. "Unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right. You're all I have, too, you know." He said.

Pepper nodded and took the chip from Tony and went to her car. Tony just smiled lightly before it faded and he went upstairs to sit on the couch.

* * *

Pepper was sitting at the desk in Tony's office, which was also Obadiah's office, since a) Tony didn't like coming in very much, and b) Tony was locked out.

"Sector 16? What are you up to, Obadiah?" The files were downloaded, and then she saw a video, clicking it sent her into shock.

"_You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark. As you can see, Obadiah Stane-_" The man started.

"Oh, my God." Pepper said under her breath.

"_-your deception and lies will cost you dearly. The price to kill Tony Stark has just gone up._"

Pepper couldn't watch another minute of it and closed out of the video when the door opened. Hiding the device that Tony gave her under a newspaper, she greeted Obadiah.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" Stane asked. "I know what you're going through, Pepper. Tony. He always gets the good stuff, doesn't he? I was so happy when he came home. It was like we got him back from the dead. Now I realize, well, Tony never really did come home, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave. Breaks my heart." He said.

"Well, he's a complicated person. He's been through a lot. I think he'll be alright." Pepper replied, taking the device from under the newspaper without letting Stane see it.

"You are a very rare woman. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is."

"Thank you. Thanks." Pepper thanked. "I'd better get back there." She made her way to the door but Obadiah stopped her.

"Is that today's paper?"

"Yes."

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

"Puzzle."

"Of course."

"Take care."

Pepper nodded and left the room. Going down the stairs, she saw Agent Coulson sitting in one of the chairs. He noticed her, too, as he got up.

"Ms. Potts? We had an appointment. Did you forget about our appointment?"

"Nope, right now. Come with me."

"Right now?"

"We're going to have it right now."

"Yeah, walk with me."

"Okay."

"I'm going to give you the meeting of your life."

* * *

Danny was still in his room, last time he had J.A.R.V.I.S. check. But... Pepper hadn't come back yet. Tony got worried, so he pulled out his phone and dialed her number. Right as she picked up, a noise was heard and Tony froze up.

"_Tony?_" Pepper asked. "_Tony, are you there? Hello?_" The one who used the device on Tony had closed the phone.

"Breathe." A familiar voice said. "Easy, easy." No... It was Obadiah. "You remember this one, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis." He started. "Tony. When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden goose. But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that, and that you had your brother there with you." He continued. "You had one last golden egg to give. Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?" Obadiah turned and opened up a silver briefcase, taking out something shaped like... The Arc Reactor in Tony's chest. Putting it over the Arc Reactor, Obadiah took it out of his chest and marveled at it's beauty. "Oh, it's beautiful. Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that." He closed the briefcase with the Arc Reactor in it. "This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands. I wish you could've seen my prototype. It's not as... Well, not as conservative as yours." He got up, leaving Tony on the couch. "Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this." He started to walk out the door, and the last words he said chilled Tony to the bone. "I would have preferred that she lived."

Tony waited for a few minutes, thought that might not have been a good idea. Once he knew he could speak at an acceptable volume, he said, "J.A.R.V.I.S... Tell Danny to go get the old Arc Reactor that Pepper turned into a little statue. Tell him that it's in the workshop, on one of the tables closest to the door." He thought for a second before adding, "And tell him to hurry."

"_Yes, sir._"

* * *

Rhodey was talking to Pepper on the phone while he was driving.

"What do you mean, he paid to have Tony killed?" Rhodey asked, clearly in shock. "Pepper, slow down." He commanded. "Why would Obadiah- Okay, where's Tony now?"

* * *

Pepper was ignoring Coulson and the other agents as she focused on her conversation with Rhodey.

"I don't know. He's not answering his phone. Please go over there and make sure everything's okay." She sighed in relief when Rhodey agreed. "Thank you, Rhodey."

* * *

Danny was still in his room, awake, when he heard J.A.R.V.I.S.

"_Mr. Fenton, Mr. Stark is in grave danger. He needs for you to go to his workshop and get the gift Miss Potts gave him. The one with the Arc Reactor._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said. "_Obadiah Stane came in moments ago and took the Arc Reactor out of Mr. Stark's chest. Mr. Stark needs for you to hurry._" There was the sound of a door opening and closing. "_It appears that Colonel Rhodes is here._"

Danny's eyes widened in shock and he shot upwards, eyes blazing. He dove straight for the workshop, transforming as he went.

Rhodey met him down there after Tony told him to go down and help. "What happened?" He asked urgently.

"Obie tore the Arc Reactor out of Tony's chest!" Danny exclaimed, searching for the other one.

Rhodey nodded and started looking for the Arc Reactor, too. Until there was a crash and Rhodey looked at Dummy, who had just smashed the glass casing of... Exactly what they were looking for. "Thanks, Dummy." Rhodey thanked the bot with a smile.

Danny quickly grabbed it. "J.A.R.V.I.S., where's Tony?" He asked frantically.

"_Mr. Stark is in the living room. You must hurry, time is running out._" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.

He quickly flew upstairs, into the living room. He looked at the couch where Tony was. "Tony! I got it... What do I do?" He asked quickly.

Tony breathed heavily before answering. "Give it to me. I'll put it in." He said.

Danny nodded and gave it to Tony, careful not to damage it when he did so.

Slowly, Tony put the wires into the base-plate of the Arc Reactor, the part that had the magnet. It clicked and Tony pushed the Arc Reactor in, it also making a clicking sound. Getting up slowly, but not as slow as how he was before, he saw Rhodey.

"Where's Pepper?" He asked Rhodey frantically, the color finally returning to his face.

"She's fine. She's with five agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah." Rhodey explained.

"That's not going to be enough." He stated before making his way towards the workshop.

* * *

"Section 16. Section 16. There it is." Pepper said as she and some agents of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division made their way to Section 16 in one of the Stark Industries labs. The same one with the big Arc Reactor. She tried to open the door with her card-key, but the door wouldn't budge. "My key's not working. It's not opening the door."

Coulson held his hand out and another agent gave him a small device, which he planted on the lock.

"Oh, wow! What's that? It's, like, a little device? It's, like, a thing that's going to pick the lock?" She asked hopefully.

Coulson made no move to answer her questions directly. All he said was, "You might want to take a few steps back."

Pepper got what he meant and stood back, covering her ears. The lock exploded, and they went inside.

* * *

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen." Rhodey commented.

"Not bad, huh? Let's do it."

"You need me to do anything else?" He asked.

"Danny, you keep Pepper safe. Grab the earpiece I made you and go out to the lab. I'm gonna meet you there, since Stane is probably there." Tony told his brother, who nodded and phased through the ceiling to go to his room and get what he needed. "Keep the skies clear." He replied to Rhodey before taking off like a bullet.

"Damn!" Rhodey muttered. A silver glint caught his eye. The first suit Tony made after he was out of Afghanistan. "Next time, baby." He muttered before going off to go back to the air force base to keep the skies clear for Tony.

* * *

"Looks like you were right. He was building a suit." Coulson noted.

"I thought it'd be bigger." Pepper muttered before the suit 'came to life', so to speak, and started to chase Pepper as she screamed.

* * *

"How do you think the Mark One chest piece is going to hold up?" Tony asked J.A.R.V.I.S.

"_The suit's at forty-eight percent power and falling, sir._" J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. "_That chest piece was never designed for sustained flight._"

"Keep me posted." Tony told his A.I., before he spotted Pepper. "Pepper!"

"Tony! Tony, are you okay?" Pepper asked as soon as he landed.

"I'm fine. How are-"

"Obadiah, he's gone insane!"

"I know." Tony said. "Listen, you'd better get out of here. Danny's coming over and he's gonna protect you while I deal with Stane."

"He built a suit." Pepper stated.

"Get out of here right now!" Tony stated at that revelation.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice said, before the bulky suit that Tony made in the cave was seen. "Your services are no longer required."

"Stane!" Tony growled out, glaring at him.

They clashed many times, somehow ending up on the freeway. Stane had grabbed a car full of screaming people. "I love this suit!" He said.

"Put them down!" Tony ordered.

"Collateral damage, Tony." He said, throwing the car into the air.

Tony caught it and put it down. The people, very frightened, ran over him.

"_Tony, are you alright?_" Danny asked through their communication line.

"Just peachy. I learned that holding onto a moving vehicle that tried to run you over is very uncomfortable." Tony growled. "Stane's gone crazy, though we already knew that. He _stole _my Arc Reactor to power a suit of his own!" He thought of something. "Divert power to chest RT." He told J.A.R.V.I.S. A bright white light shot out of Tony's Arc Reactor and hit Stane.

"_Power reduced to nineteen percent_."

"For 30 years, I've been holding you up! I built this company from nothing! Nothing is going to stand in my way. Least of all you!" Obadiah said, lunging for Tony.

Tony, however, was in a slimmer armor than Stane, so he dodged him by flying upwards.

"Impressive! You've upgraded your armor! I've made some upgrades of my own!" And Stane flew up after Tony.

"_Sir, it appears that his suit can fly._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said.

"Duly noted. Take me to maximum altitude." Tony commanded.

"_With only fifteen percent power, the odds of reaching that-_"

"I know the math! Do it!" Tony commanded.

"_Yes, sir._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said. "_Thirteen percent power, sir._"

"Climb!" Tony commanded.

"_Eleven percent._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said.

"Keep going!" Tony pushed.

"_Seven percent power._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said, scaring Danny. He said nothing, however, since he knew that Tony must've had a plan.

"Stop telling me! Just leave it on the screen!"

Unknowingly, Tony had broadcast that conversation about altitudes to Danny.

"You had a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced in every way!" Stane boasted.

"How'd you solve the icing problem?" Tony smiled behind his mask, just knowing that Stane didn't know about that problem.

"Icing problem?" And that's why people call Tony Stark a genius.

"Might want to look into it." Tony said as Stane fell onto the roof of the lab.

"_Two percent._" J.A.R.V.I.S. reported. Then, Tony fell to the ground. "_We are now running on emergency backup power._"

"Potts!" Tony yelled, since she had, somehow, gotten inside the building.

"Tony! Oh, my God, are you okay?" She asked, totally freaked out.

"I'm almost out of power. I've got to get out of this thing. I'll be right there." He reported, taking off his gloves and helmet..

"Nice try!" Stane said, trying to attack him.

"Weapons status?" Tony asked J.A.R.V.I.S.

"_Repulsors offline. Missiles offline._" J.A.R.V.I.S. reported.

"Flares!" Tony said, setting off flares in front of Stane.

"Very clever, Tony." Stane laughed.

"Potts?" Tony asked.

"Tony!" Pepper cried.

"This isn't working. We're going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof."

"Well, how are you going to do that?"

"You're going to do it." Tony corrected. "Go to the central console, open up all the circuits. When I get clear of the roof, I'll let you know. You're going to hit the master bypass button." Tony explained. "It's going to fry everything up here."

"_Excuse me... What!?" _Danny spoke through the earpiece.

Tony sighed. "I'm not actually going to be on the roof when it blows, Danny." He said.

A sigh of relief went through the speaker.

"Okay. I'm going in now."

"Make sure you wait till I clear the roof. I'll buy you some time." Tony said. Then, he ripped out some wires on Obadiah's suit. "This looks important!" He commented while doing so.

"I never had a taste for this sort of thing, but I must admit, I'm deeply enjoying the suit!" Stane said, clearly out of his mind. "You finally outdid yourself, Tony! You'd have made your father proud!"

Tony glared at Stane with distaste when Pepper's voice broke through, and the Arc Reactor was glowing even brighter.

"It's ready, Tony! Get off the roof!" Tony didn't move. "Tony!"

"How ironic, Tony! Trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it its best one ever!" He said with a smile, opening up his suit.

"Pepper!"

"And now I'm going to kill you with it!" A smile was clearly seen on Obadiah's face. "You ripped out my targeting system!"

"Time to hit the button!" Tony told Pepper.

"You told me not to!"

"Hold still, you little prick!" Stane commanded.

"Just do it!"

"You'll die!"

_"__**Tony!**__"_ Danny screamed, before a very angry and anxious Danny 'Phantom' appeared over the rooftop, having intangibly come from the building.

"Danny, get out of the way!" Tony commanded. "Push it!" He told Pepper, who did as she was told and ran out of the building before a bright blue light streamed into the sky, frying Stane. It was mere inches from Tony.

When that part was done, Tony was alive and conscious, but then it exploded, blowing up Obadiah with it.

Danny quickly turned intangible and moved back, to get out of the way.

"Tony!" Pepper screamed when the dust cleared.

On the roof was Tony, who looked fine, but his suit was dented and the normal blue glow of the Arc Reactor in his chest was gone.

Danny's face was full of horror. "Tony..." He mumbled, eyes completely wide. He was too focused on Tony's Arc Reactor not glowing, that he didn't notice that Obie had blown up. "Tony!" He screamed, head looking down- mourning.

Pepper ran up onto the roof to see the scene before her, her eyes were red.

The Arc Reactor started to flicker a dim blue and Tony groaned.

Danny looked up, hopeful. "Tony... Don't die... Don't die..." He mumbled flying closer.

"Not yet... Don't want to leave you all alone like Dad did with me." Tony said weakly.

* * *

It had been a day since what happened at the lab, and Pepper was getting Tony ready for a press conference while Tony and Coulson were talking about the cards Tony had to read from.

"You sure you want to come out there with me, Danny?" Tony asked. "The press are, usually, like piranhas about this kind of stuff."

Danny nodded. "Yeah... But we've dealt with psychos, kidnappers, some people dying in front of us, and so on... I think we can both handle the press."

"If you think you can take it." Tony said.

Danny grinned.

"'Iron Man.' That's kind of catchy. It's got a nice ring to it. I mean, it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold-titanium alloy, but it's kind of evocative, the imagery, anyway." Tony quickly changed the subject.

"Here's your alibi." Coulson said, giving him a set of note-cards. "You were on your yacht. We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night, and sworn statements from 50 of your guests." He explained.

Tony flipped through the cards before putting them back in order and getting up from the chair he was sitting in. "See, I was thinking maybe we should say it was just Pepper and me alone on the island."

"That's what happened." Coulson stayed firm. "Just read it, word for word."

"There's nothing about Stane here." Tony pointed out.

"That's being handled. He's on vacation. Small aircraft have such a poor safety record." Coulson explained.

"You've got 90 seconds." A man said.

Tony flattened out his suit and got ready to go. "You ready, Danny?" He asked. "For the sake of keeping you safe – the real you -, I'm gonna call you Marcus."

Danny nodded.

"Agent Coulson?" Pepper asked, making the agent turn. "I just wanted to say thank you very much for all of your help."

"That's what we do. You'll be hearing from us." Coulson said.

"From the Strategic Homeland-"

"Just call us S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Right." Pepper nodded.

Then, Tony and Danny walked out behind Pepper to wait for her to give the all-clear.

* * *

"And now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement, and also has some more news." Pepper said, leaving the podium open for Danny and Tony.

Danny walked up to the podium first, and looked around the crowd, slightly nervous. Tony stood right behind Danny for moral support. Danny smiled slightly then sighed. "Hello... Everyone." He said. "I'm Marcus... Marcus Stark. Tony's younger brother..." He looked around the crowd to see their reactions.

Like Tony said, the press were like piranhas. Most of the questions were of the 'How is it possible?' variety.

Danny frowned slightly. "One question at a time." He spoke through the microphone, voice loud and clear. Several people quickly rose their hands. "You." He said, pointing at a blonde in the front. "The blonde woman in the front." He said. Under his breath, he muttered, "Oh crud."

Said woman was Christine Everheart, the same woman Tony was with the day they were captured. "Christine Everheart, Vanity Fair Magazine. How is it possible? Maria and Howard Stark died years ago in a plane crash."

"She lived a little longer then what most people thought. Long enough to well, have me... She was in early pregnancy during the crash." Danny answered- lying at the last part.

"What have you been doing your whole life? How have you been hiding from the press?"

"Family friends raised me." Danny stated. Before anyone else could say something, he said. "For their safety and privacy, I'll keep their identities a secret."

"Do you plan to take over Stark Industries when you are able to?"

Danny thought about it for a second. "Yeah... But that won't be for a long time."

"What is your opinion on the direction your brother put the company in?"

Danny frowned slightly. "He stopped Stark Industries from making weapons. Sure, that made the amount of money S.I. makes drop- its bound to with a big decision like that. But, who's to say it isn't for the better? Stark Industries dropping the creation of weapons opens up doors for _new_ things to come in. Like, technology to help us in ways other than war which causes death... Instead, we could do something much better for the world. The new plans for Stark Industries will be explained by my brother later." He looked around. "I guess we should move on to Tony now... He'd like to explain what happened last night."

Tony nodded and walked up to the podium. "Thank you, Marcus." He thanked.

"You're welcome." Danny replied, stepping away from the podium.

"Been awhile since I was in front of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards this time." Tony tried to joke, but it landed on deaf ears. "There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop-"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you-" Oh look, Everheart decided to join the party. Again.

"I know that it's confusing." Tony agreed. "It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero."

In the background, Danny face-palmed. _Smooth Tony. Very smooth. _He thought sarcastically.

"I never said you were a superhero."

"You didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and... fantastic." He said. "I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public."

"Just stick to the cards." Coulson whispered.

Tony nodded, looking at the cards again. "The truth is..." He thought about it for a minute before putting them down again. Looking squarely into a camera he said, "I am Iron Man." And then he was mobbed by millions of reporters.

Danny's eyes went wide at the fact that Tony said that right into a camera. "Really Tony!?" He muttered to himself.

* * *

After finally escaping the press after an hour, Tony and Danny made their way into the house.

"I'm just saying, someone would have figured it out eventually." Tony argued. "J.A.R.V.I.S.!" He called out.

Danny's eyes narrowed, arms crossed. "Yeah, but now!? Why not let things cool down first?" He questioned.

"It just felt right." Tony replied.

"Welcome home sir..." J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice faded out, but another voice was heard.

"'I am Iron Man'. You think you're the only superhero in the world?" The voice asked.

Danny stiffened up. "You're not J.A.R.V.I.S." He said, eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

The voice ignored Danny, for the moment. "Mr. Stark, Mr. Fenton, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet."

"Who the hell are you?" Tony asked, repeating Danny's question.

"Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm here to talk to you both about the Avengers Initiative."

Danny's eyes narrowed further- having no clue what the Avengers Initiative was. Or how this person knew about him being Danny Fenton as well as Marcus Stark. "And that would be...?"

"People with special abilities, like your brother, or powers, like you."

Danny's eyes widened at the fact that this Nick Fury knew of his powers. "I- I don't know what you're talking about..." He tried to fib.

"Don't try to weasel your way out of this, Daniel." Fury said. "We already know."

"How?" Danny questioned, not sure how to feel.

"Coulson." Fury stated simply.

"He knew?" Danny questioned, surprised. "What gave it away? My eyes always changing color?"

"That, and he could tell the difference."

* * *

Rossi: Wow... 67 pages (not including Author's notes), and 19,854 words, also not counting Author's notes.

Jenny: Yeah... It's surprising. *yawns* Pretty long chapter, 'specially for us!

Rossi: Well, we still have Iron Man 2, The Avengers, and Iron Man 3 to get through before we can do our own stuff. I was thinking Sam and Tucker could be seen more in the next chapter (Iron Man 2). Tony could invite them, backstage, to the StarkExpo, and to his party, and to the race...

Jenny: Yeah... We should! They haven't even spoken to Danny yet! Poor Danny needs the help from his best friends! As a joke, maybe Sam's parents could have been trying to convince her to date a boy like 'Marcus Stark'. XD

Rossi: Yeah they did...

Jenny: *nods* Night guys.

Rossi: *Goes off to post this and then sleep* This coulda been five chapters, meaning I've filled that quota for a while. I plan to stick with this story. Also, reviews are accepted and will be replied to. Flames are not and will be ignored.


	2. Chapter 2

Rossi: Okay, so, since I'm the only one writing this right now, I'll be replying to the review(s).

Thanks to everyone who faved and followed!

Foxbracken – Phoenix Everren: Yeah, I know it was long. The first four chapters will be about that length, if not longer or a tiny bit shorter. Also, thanks! We love writing it. Well, I know I do.

Rossi: Okay, so everything said in the chapter one A/N can be applied here. Please remember to leave a review! Let us know what you think!

Jenny: *looks around and sneaks inside the A/N* Hello. Story time!

Rossi: Also, there's a poll up on my profile for any of you readers who like The Avengers and Criminal Minds.

* * *

**A Stark Raised By Fenton's**

**Chapter Two**

**Palladium Poisoning and Vampires**

* * *

Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked into FentonWorks- Danny finally being home after so long. They were discussing practically everything. The discussion had started out about P.D.A.s and vegetarian meals but quickly had turned to the topic of Danny's powers and the whole incident of Stark Industries stopping making weapons- along with 'Marcus's' little speech.

"Dude, were you coached or something?" Tucker asked. "That was awesome!"

Danny shook his head. "No." He answered. "It just came to me... I just knew the right thing to say."

Tucker grinned. "Sweet." He said, before pausing. "Oh, and I'm betting you knew before anyone else that Tony was Iron Man!"

Danny nodded. "I did... I helped him test out the suit. Oh, and Dummy kept hitting him with the fire extinguisher while he was testing it out!" He laughed.

"Wait, who's Dummy?" Tucker asked.

"One of his A.I.s." Danny answered.

Maddie walked downstairs, smiling.

The phone rang, but before anyone could answer it, it went to voice-mail.

"_Hey, Danny. I was wondering if you and your friends wanted to come over for the summer. Your room's still there and I have two extra bedrooms. And, no. My bedroom is not one of them. I may not use it very often, but still. Anyways, I have some stuff going on, too. The Stark Expo is going on all year, and you and your friends can have backstage passes, even though I might not be staying down there long. Then there's my birthday party in a few days. Oh yeah! The race in Monaco. There was one other thing... Hey, J.A.R.V.I.S., what was it?_" Tony started.

"The Court appearance you have to make, in the District of Columbia-" J.A.R.V.I.S. started, before being interrupted by Tony.

"_You can just call it Washington D.C., J.A.R.V.I.S.._" He said.

"-with Senator Stern about the Iron Man armor being turned over to the people of the United States of America, sir." He finished.

"_That's nothing fun to invite teenagers to, but whatever. Even though it was a stupid idea the first time I did it, I'm not leaving three teenagers alone in my house while I'm in D.C. Besides, you teens can learn some stuff while I'm there. Also, I know the parents of one of your friends, Sam Manson, and I've been hearing that they want her to get in contact with 'Marcus Stark'. It may not be the right thing to do, but she knows about you, Daniel James Fenton, being the famous Marcus Howard Stark. By the way, I still think dad was being a bit of a narcissist when he said 'give the kid Howard as a middle name'. Did you know that he got my name, Anthony, from his middle name? Since he's... What was it, J.A.R.V.I.S.?_" Tony continued on.

"Howard Anthony Walter Stark, sir." J.A.R.V.I.S. answered.

"_Oh yeah. And then there's my middle name, Edward. That comes from our uncle, Edward Stark. But, anyways, if you want to come over, you can bring your friends, too. But that's only if you want them to and they want to._" Tony ended, hanging up.

J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice was heard next. "This message was left by Anthony Edward Stark of Stark Industries. If you would like to call back, please call 657-887-0984."

Tucker, Sam, and Danny all looked at each other enthusiastically. Then they looked to Maddie, who rubbed her forehead. "Sam and Tucker, you'll have to ask your parents. Danny-"

"I know, I know. Work on my powers, keep Tony from doing stupid things, don't get kidnapped again, and don't do anything stupid." He said.

"Not only that." Maddie said, pulling out what looked like a Thermos. "You said that you saw some ghosts in Malibu... This Thermos can catch them. I've made a few of them- one for you, one for Sam, one for Tucker, one for Tony, and a few extras."

Danny grinned, taking the Thermos. "Thanks mom!" He said.

Sam and Tucker grinned- each pulling out their cellphones to call their parents.

Maddie sighed, and walked up to the phone to call Tony back while Danny was grinning in excitement, rushing off to tell Jazz and Jack that he was leaving.

The other end of the line was picked up on the first ring. "_Hello?"_ Tony asked.

"It's Maddie Fenton. Danny will be coming- Sam and Tucker will probably come too." She said.

"_Alright!_" Tony said happily. "_I-I mean I'll get everything ready._" There was a crash, then Tony's tone changed completely. "_You! I swear to God, I'll dismantle you! I'll soak your motherboard, turn you into a wine rack!_" He yelled. "_Oh, sorry. One of my bots just destroyed the sink in the lab._"

Maddie frowned slightly. "Oh, and you mentioned bringing the kids to court...?" She said, in a questioning tone.

"_Oh yeah... I'm supposed to go to D.C. after the Stark Expo, and I don't know how long I'm going to be there. I don't want to leave them there all alone, since Rhodey's doing who-knows-what in some active war zone, Pepper's coming with me, and so is Happy._" Tony said. "_They'd be in the mansion for who knows how long with my three insane A.I.'s, Dummy, Butterfingers, and You, and my A.I. Butler, J.A.R.V.I.S.. Not really a good combo._" He continued. "_And the government wants my suit..._"

"I see..." She said frowning. "And, it's not like you'll be giving _that_ up anytime soon."

"_I plan to make a very... Compelling argument._" Tony said. "_And try never. Not giving up my suits._"

Maddie nodded. "I hope you do well with your suits." She said. "Anyways... Danny told me that Malibu had a ghost problem..." She trailed off.

"_Yeah. And my suits are no help at all there, either... If a ghost phases through me, the Arc Reactor goes... Well it blows up. Or so J.A.R.V.I.S. has told me._"

Maddie frowned. "Me and Jack recently came up with an invention that will capture ghosts- the Fenton Thermos. It can trap them. We can work on some more inventions- weapons- that can fight off ghosts. We can probably send some to you- to protect you from... Having the Arc Reactor blow up..."

"_Alright. But I'll see what I can come up with, first. For protecting the Arc Reactor, I mean. It needs to still work with the suit._"

Maddie nodded. "Okay." She said. "We'll be sending a few Thermoses with Danny, Sam, and Tucker, anyways."

"_Alright. The jet will be in Amity in about an hour._" There was a sheepish chuckle. "_I sorta thought you'd say yes before I called, so I sent it._"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Okay then, Tony." She said.

Sam and Tucker grinned- both of them had gained permission to go. "The jet's gonna be here in an hour."

Danny ran back to the living room.

* * *

The jet landed in Malibu in the afternoon. When the doors opened, Tony was waiting there in a suit-and-tie.

"Hey." He said with a smile.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker came out of the jet- Tucker _geeking_ over the awesome jet. "Hey Tony!" Danny called out, smiling as well.

Even Sam- even being the Goth she was- was grinning like it was Christmas time.

"Welcome to Malibu! Or, welcome _back _to Malibu." He was still smiling.

"This. Place. Is. Awesome!" Tucker declared

"If you like Malibu in general, then you should see my house." Tony said. "If you love tech, then my workshop will be like a mechanical heaven."

Tucker grinned- like he was already in heaven.

"Looks like we'll know where to find Tucker." Sam remarked.

Danny snickered.

* * *

Tony and Danny were alone. Tucker was in the workshop while Sam was checking out the rest of the house.

"Danny... I have something really important to tell you." Tony said.

Danny looked up. "What is it?"

"There's no easy way to tell you this..." Tony started. "The Arc Reactor... It runs on Palladium which is... Poisonous in the way I'm using it." He continued. "I'll just have J.A.R.V.I.S. explain it."

"_The Palladium in Mr. Stark's chest is running the Arc Reactor perfectly, as is expected, but it is also poisoning him. It it keeping him alive, yet it is also killing him._"

Danny's eyes widened in shock. "Can't you- is there any way for you to... You know... Live?" He asked, eyes flashing green.

Tony shook his head sadly. "No. I've tried every combination - every permutation - of every known element. None of them will work." He explained. "Taking it out is an option, but I wouldn't live very long without it."

"But-" Danny started to say. "How- how long?" He asked quietly.

"I don't know. It could be days, weeks, or months."

* * *

It was the night of the start of the year-long Stark Expo, and the host, Tony Stark, was nowhere to be seen.

Danny sighed, looking around. He, Sam, and Tucker were sitting in the audience, watching the stage.

Suddenly, there was a thump, and everyone was screaming since Iron Man was on the stage, though everyone knew he was Tony Stark.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker all jumped- startled.

The suit was taken off while Tony was on a turntable-like device. He started to clap. "Oh it's good to be back. You missed me? I missed you too." He said.

"Blow somethin' up!" Someone yelled.

"Blow somethin' up? I already did that." He said. "I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me. I'm not saying that from the **ashes of captivity** never has a greater Phoenix metaphor been personified in human history! I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sippin' on an iced tea, because I haven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe to toe with me on my best day!"

"To-ny, To-ny, To-ny." Most of the crowd cheered while Tony smiled a cunning smile.

"I love you, Tony!" One girl yelled.

"Please." He shook his head. "It's not about me." He used both hands as a signal to quiet the crowd. "It's not about you. It's not even about us, it's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations and that's why, for the next year and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision to leave behind a brighter future. It's not about us! Therefore what I am saying, if I'm saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo!" The crowd started to cheer again. "And now, making a _special_ guest appearance from the great beyond, to tell you what it's all about. Please welcome my father, _Howard Stark._" He finished, walking off the stage as the film started to play.

Danny leaned forward, paying extra attention to the film.

"_Everything is achievable through technology. Better living, robust health, and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. So from all of us here at Stark Industries, I would personally like to introduce you to the city of the future. Technology holds infinite possibilities for mankind and will one day rid society of all its ills. Soon, technology will affect the way you live your life everyday. No more tedious work. Leaving more time for leisure activities and enjoying the sweet life. The Stark Expo... welcome._" Howard said with a smile on the film reel.

Tony checked his blood toxicity levels backstage, then slipped the small machine back into his pocket.

Danny smiled slightly, as did Sam and Tucker.

Meanwhile, backstage, a man with a white ponytail and teal eyes, along with a business suit, walked up to Tony. He looked Russian. "Hello, Mr. Stark." He said.

Tony turned around. "Oh, uh, hi, Mr...?"

"Masters. Vlad Masters." He introduced.

Tony nodded. "Is there something you need, Mr. Masters?"

Vlad thought for a moment. "Actually, yes. I hear that you are Iron Man..." He stated, trailing off.

Tony's attitude changed dramatically. "If you want the suit then I'm gonna tell you right now. Not. Going. To. Happen." He said, eyes narrowed.

Vlad chuckled a little bit. "I wasn't going to ask for the suit. I'm not an idiot like most of the government and paparazzi out there. But, that suit _must_ have some sort of power source..."

"Okay, now I'm really gonna tell you to fuck off." Tony narrowed his eyes. "The Arc Reactor keeps me alive. No one is getting it."

Vlad frowned slightly. "The device is an energy source- it keeps you alive, but it must have some negative effects." He said. "Perhaps, if you made another of the devices, I could experiment with it... And learn how to negate those effects." He said.

"Let me just put it simple for you. I'm not giving you and specs for an Arc Reactor, nor am I making you one for yourself so fuck. Off."

Vlad narrowed his eyes slightly. "It was nice meeting you Mr. Stark. If you ever change your mind... Feel free to contact me." He said, handing Tony a DALV business card before walking away.

Tony growled. "Now I have even more people after my tech." He muttered.

* * *

Tony was leaning back towards Pepper, making smoochy faces, while Senator Stern kept going "Mr. Stark!"

With one final "Mr. Stark!", Tony turned around and spoke into the microphone. "Yes, dear?"

Danny rolled his eyes. Tucker was just ignoring them, and Sam was just sitting there- half listening, half not.

"Can I have your attention?" Stern asked.

"Yes you may."

"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?"

"I do not."

"You do not?"

"I do not. Well, it depends on how you define the word 'weapon'."

"The Iron Man weapon."

"My device does not fit that description."

"Well then how would you define it?"

"It's not a weapon, it's more of a highly advanced prosthesis."

"It's a weapon, Mr. Stark." He said bluntly. "My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America."

"Well, you can forget it. I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself, which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you're in. You can't have it." He said.

"Look, I'm no expert-"

"In prostitution? You're a senator. Come on!"

"Oooh!" The three teenagers chorused, like children would when a classmate got in trouble.

Some people looked at them, but, for the most part, they watched the case play out.

Everything went fine until Justin Hammer came in to argue against Tony, and Rhodey came in to read something.

Now, they were almost done.

"I think we're done with the point that he's making. I don't think there's any reason-"

"The point is you're welcome, I guess." Tony shrugged, cutting Stern off.

"For what?"

"Because I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can't have it. But I did you a big favor." He turned to face the crowd. "I've successfully privatized world peace. What more do you want? For now! I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns."

Tony was walking out while Stern said, with a smile, "Fuck you, Mr. Stark. Fuck you, buddy."

"No swearing in front of teenagers." Sam said, as she followed Tony out of the chamber. Danny and Tucker followed.

"Who said that to you?" Tony asked.

"He swore. We were in the audience. Hence, he swore in _front_ of us even though it wasn't directed at us." Sam pointed out.

"No, I meant who said 'no swearing in front of teenagers'? Because, I'm pretty sure, in most public high schools, every other word is a swear."

"Not in our high school. And those are teenagers swearing. Not adults." Sam pointed out. "And we're fourteen. We aren't deep into teenager-hood yet." She said.

"I was swearing way before then..." Tony mused. "But I think that's because of dad... And the fact I was finishing up High School."

Danny frowned. "What was dad like?" He asked.

"Oh... He was... Interesting, to say the least." Tony started. "He was cold, calculating, never told me he loved me, didn't even tell me that he liked me. He mainly focused on finding Captain America. He worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II, along with the Super Soldier Program. The happiest day of his life was shipping me off to boarding school."

Danny frowned, and didn't say anything after that.

"But mom... You would've loved her. She was so nice and caring... She always cheered me up after Dad came home a drunk and swearing bastard every other night."

Danny smiled slightly, but not by much.

* * *

Tony and Pepper were arguing in the middle of the mansion when Tony finally said something to Pepper that would make her freeze up.

"I am appointing you C.E.O., why aren't you listening to me? You know, I've been lately thinking what legacy I want to leave behind, and who should do what when I'm gone. And I think, in terms of Stark Enterprises, that you should take over it. You've always managed to handle it, so far it's been good. I hereby irrevocably make you C.E.O. of the company until Danny wants to take over, and when he's old enough to."

Sam and Tucker's eyes all widened. "Danny's supposed to become C.E.O. of S.I.!?" They said, shocked.

"If I don't have any kids, he's the next in line." Tony answered.

Their eyes widened.

Danny walked inside the room, frowning slightly.

"_Sir, there is an intruder in the house._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said.

Tony, not wanting to destroy his house with the suit, grabbed a lamp.

Sam and Tucker stiffened- Sam pulling nunchucks from who-knows-where and Tucker grabbing a P.D.A. and slinking behind Sam.

Danny stiffened, eyes glowing brightly. "What type of intruder?" He asked. "What does it look like he or she is after?" He asked, his ghost self's personality coming through.

"_The intruder seems to be after the blueprints for the Arc Reactor, Mr. Fenton._"

Tony growled.

"_And he is a ghost._"

Tucker gulped. Danny stiffened, wondering why his ghost sense wasn't going off. He transformed quickly, and grabbed a Thermos. Sam and Tucker ran toward Tucker's backpack, grabbing two Thermoses out of them. Then, they grabbed another which they tossed toward Tony.

Danny dove downstairs without thinking.

Tony caught the Thermos and ran downstairs with the thermos and the lamp.

Danny spotted a creature that looked like a tall man, but from the back. He wore a black cape and a silver suit, with black gloves and boots. He was visibly muscular, and had black hair up in sharp points. His skin looked blue, and Danny could tell the ghost was powerful. "What do you think you're doing!?" Danny questioned, and the ghost turned quickly. His skin was blue, and his eyes were a deep red- like blood. He had fangs, and Danny took a step back.

"What have we here? A young specter who probably hasn't learned most of the basics and a man with a lamp? Yawn." The spirit said tauntingly.

"Get the fuck out of my lab." Tony ground out. "The specs to the Arc Reactor don't belong to you."

"So? It's called 'borrowing'." The creature said, forming a pink energy blast in his hand. "Permanently borrowing, but that's besides the point."

Danny was taken aback on how the ghost formed energy rays.

"I'd call it stealing." Tony said. "You're a very stubborn man, coming to me during the expo, and now, after I'm trying to unwind a bit after that meeting with that ass-clown, Senator Stern."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The ghost sneered out.

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

"Plasmius." The ghost introduced. "And you are... That ghost who was fighting off the ones that came here. To Malibu, California." He said, looking around some more for blueprints.

"No. You're Vlad Masters." Tony said. "You came to me when I was backstage at the Stark Expo. You wanted the specs for my Arc Reactor." He continued. "You wanna know how I know? I put two and two together. I'm a genius."

Vlad frowned at the fact he was discovered.

"Vlad Masters!?" Danny questioned. "That means- you were- you worked on the ghost portal with my mom and dad in college!"

He smirked slightly. "Jack and Maddie Fenton. Jack being the dumb one, of course. Never did anything right."

Danny's eyes blazed.

"Scratch that statement about being a genius. I'm a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, egotistical, Iron Man." Tony said. "And Jack Fenton is _not _dumb. He's one of the smartest people I know."

"I can see the ego part right now." Vlad said. "Hmm, then why did his foolishness send me to the hospital for _five years_!?" He finished.

Tony just glared. "Get the fuck out of my house right now before I reveal to the press that you're half ghost and I file a restraining order."

"Hmm, and I could reveal that Marcus Stark is really Danny Fenton to the press, and a half ghost- straight to the Guys in White."

Danny's eyes burned more, and he was half tempted to lunge at the ghost.

"Who would they believe more? The guy who has the audio proof, aka me, or the guy who has no proof, aka you?" Tony asked. "Then there's also the fact that I could just _hack _them to get any info they have on him erased."

"Hmm, smart." Vlad stated. "But, not smart enough. Overshadowing works like a charm to get me out of any trouble." He stated.

"Okay, you know what?" Tony asked, throwing down his lamp and putting the thermos on the floor. "J.A.R.V.I.S., is it ready?"

"_Yes it is, sir._"

Tony grinned and went to a part of his lab. "Oh, I'm gonna love this." He said, taking out a red-and-silver suitcase.

Danny looked at Vlad and finally lunged at him, Vlad quickly sidestepping. Danny did the same thing again, but Vlad put up a ghost shield and yawned. "For the second halfa, you don't seem that smart. Charging doesn't work on me." He said.

Danny growled again, not caring. He dove at Plasmius, who caught him by the throat. Vlad threw him into the ground and blasted at the boy with those energy beams. Danny yelped from the pain and now understood why earlier, those ghosts had kept screeching.

Tony had, somehow, gone missing in the middle of the battle, as has the red-and-silver suitcase.

Danny frowned, trying to get out of the way from the pain. Plasmius then duplicated himself. "How do you do that?" Danny asked, sort of fearful.

"Practice. Years of practice, and you will not have time for them." Vlad said, having his duplicate chase Danny down into a corner. Vlad teleported there was well, then the two proceeded to fire two continuous ghost rays at him- at the same time. And, Danny let out a scream.

While Vlad was attacking Danny, Tony was behind Vlad. Shooting off twin repulsors at the ghost, he said, "No one hurts my little brother." His tone was ice cold, and it was even icier with how the suit distorted his voice. Lifting up the faceplate, Tony glared hard at Vlad. "You can do what you want to me, just leave my brother out of this. It's my stuff you want."

Vlad stiffened, and his duplicate turned. Danny let out some shallow breaths, and sunk into the floor and came up on the other side of the room. The real Vlad turned as well when that happened. "Your brother needs to learn not to attack higher forces, then." His duplicate said tauntingly.

"Get. The. _Fuck._ Out. Of. My. House." Tony growled at Vlad.

Vlad paused for a moment, and narrowed his eyes. He knew that Tony was ticked- and it was easier to handle people when they weren't ticked. He then teleported away, dramatically.

Tony walked over to Danny. "You alright?" He asked.

Danny nodded slightly. "Yeah..." He said. "But he was strong. If you hadn't have come in right then, I might've passed out..." He admitted.

"I didn't even know that the repulsors would work. If I did, I would've used the Chest RT." He said.

Danny nodded. "I wonder how he did that energy thing..." He mumbled.

"Probably learned how to." Tony answered. "Just like you will." He smiled caringly.

Danny smiled slightly. "I didn't even know ghosts could do that..." He mumbled. "What do you think he wanted with the Arc Reactor? If he's a ghost, he can use ectoplasmic energy for power... He shouldn't need one."

"Unless... He wants to use them as bombs of some sort." Tony mused.

Danny thought about this for a moment. "What do you mean?" He asked.

J.A.R.V.I.S. answered for Tony. "_The energy the Arc Reactor produces does not mix with Ectoplasm, and it reacts violently when it comes in contact with it. The result of that is an explosion._"

Danny's eyes widened in shock. "Bombs... The question is, does he want to use them against humans...? Or ghosts?" He wondered.

Tony shook his head. "I don't know, but he can't get the blueprints for them."

"Good." Danny said.

"So, now what?" Tony asked.

"I can ask around about Plasmius to the other ghosts." Danny said. "Help find more stuff out. But I should also learn that ectoplasm trick..."

Tony nodded. "But first I have to go meet the woman Pepper wants to have become my P.A., or something. All I know is that Pepper wants me to meet her."

Danny nodded. "Should we tell Sam and Tucker about this...?" He asked.

"About the ghost, or about the Arc Reactor being able to become a bomb?"

"Both. If one of those ecto rays hit you-" He started. "You could well... You know."

"_It is only when a ghost phases through Mr. Stark will that happen._" J.A.R.V.I.S. pointed out.

Danny sighed in relief.

Tony let the suit disassemble itself and it turned back into a red and silver suitcase. "Works like a charm, J.A.R.V.I.S.. I just wish I could've put weapons or something to help me fly on it." He said to his A.I.

"You have suitcase armor now?" Danny questioned.

"Still testing it. It can't fly, and I only have my hand repulsors and the Chest RT." Tony nodded. "Anyways, you gonna come to the gym with me now or are you gonna join up with me later?"

"I'll come up in a few minutes..." He answered, thinking.

Tony nodded and made his way to the gym, leaving the suitcase armor on the table.

In the gym, he boxed with Happy until Pepper came in, followed by another woman with red hair.

Tony looked at the woman like she was hot, which was true in his vantage point.

Exiting the boxing ring, Tony made his way over to Pepper to sign some papers, stating that he was signing over the company to Pepper until Danny came of age to take over, and that was only if he wanted to.

"What's your name, lady?" he asked, pointing to the woman.

She gave him a smile. "Rushman. Natalie Rushman." She answered.

"Front and center. Come into the church." He told her.

Pepper shook her head at his antics. "No. You're seriously not gonna ask-"

"If it pleases the court, which it does." Tony cut in.

Natalie closed the book, a smile growing on her lips. "It's no problem." She told Pepper..

"I'm sorry. He's very eccentric." Pepper explained as Natalie made her way to the ring.

While Tony was signing papers for Pepper, and trying to make Natalie his new assistant, said woman was in the ring with Happy.

Happy went to punch her. "Lesson one, never take your eyes off of your-" He never got to finish that sentence, as Natalie took Happy's hand and flipped him over.

"Oh my God!" Pepper exclaimed. "Happy!" She ran over to him to help him up.

Danny came up- normally- a few minutes later. Pepper was back in her chair by that point.

"How do I spell your name, Natalie?" Tony called from across the room.

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N." She spelled out for him.

"What, are you Googling her now?" Pepper demanded as Tony typed on the table laptop he had installed.

"I thought I was ogling her." Tony stated. "Oh, wow. Very, very impressive individual."

"You're so predictable, you know that?"

"She's fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin." He listed off before a look of confusion passed over his face. "Who speaks Latin?"

"No one speaks Latin." Pepper stated. "It's a dead language."

"No one speaks Latin?"

Pepper shook her head. "You can read Latin or you can write Latin but you can't speak Latin-"

"Did you model in Tokyo?" Tony cut in. "'Cause she modeled in Tokyo."

Danny walked into the scene, wondering what was going on.

"Hey, Marcus." Tony said with a smile, looking up from the laptop/table.

"Hey Tony... Pepper... Happy..." He looked toward Natalie. "And girl I don't know."

"Natalie Rushman." Natalie said with a smile.

"Marcus Stark." Danny said, smiling slightly.

"You did good at the press conference. Was that your first time up in front of the press?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah."

Natalie nodded with another smile.

Danny felt something off about 'Natalie Rushman'. Whether it was paranoia or something else, he didn't know. "So why are you here? A magazine?"

Natalie shook her head. "I'm a notary."

"And that is?" Danny asked, slightly confused.

"A notary in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business." Natalie said.

Danny nodded. "Cool." He said, before pausing. "J.A.R.V.I.S., where are Sam and Tucker?" He asked, wondering where his friends were.

"_Miss Manson is in her room and Mr. Foley is in the workshop._" J.A.R.V.I.S. answered.

Danny nodded. "Thanks J.A.R.V.I.S." He said, leaving the room but staying in the hallway- he wanted to ask this 'Natalie' some questions. For all he knew, she could be with Vlad. Or something else. Government, maybe?

They stayed in the room for a bit longer before Natalie left the room, in the same hallway that Danny was in.

Danny walked up to her. "Well Natalie... Do you know a man named Nick Fury?" He asked.

A look of shock briefly passed on Natalie's face. "How did you know?" She asked quietly, and somewhat dangerously.

"Me and my brother had a 'discussion' with him a few months ago about... Tony being Iron Man." Danny answered.

"How did you connect me with the Director?" Natalie asked.

Danny thought for a second. "I had a feeling that you weren't who you said you were." He answered.

"So who do you think I am?" She asked.

"Not exactly sure. But I know you work with S.H.I.E.L.D." He answered.

Natalie smirked. "You're good, kid. I'm Agent Natasha Romanoff, codenamed the Black Widow."

Danny nodded, smiling slightly. _I figured out the identity of a__n__ S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Cool. _ He thought.

"You can't tell anyone. You can't even call me Natasha. I'm undercover, and the Director would like for it to remain that way. Got it?"

He nodded. "I know the meaning of 'undercover'." He said.

"Good. I'll see you around, kid." She said, walking off.

Danny grinned, then walked downstairs to the workshop to find Tucker. He still had to tell him- and Sam- about Vlad.

* * *

Tony, Pepper, Natalie, Danny, Sam, and Tucker entered the building right in front of the racetrack.

"So, anyone else been to France before?" Tony asked.

"Once." Sam said. "To visit my aunt while she was vacationing."

Tucker raised an eyebrow.

"It was my parent's decision.'

"Ah..." Danny and Tucker chorused.

"Tucker, have you been here before?" Danny asked.

"With the money my parents make? I'm lucky to go to the water park." Tucker answered.

"Anyone seen a Formula One race?"

The trio of teens shook their heads.

"Then I hope you have a great time." Tony smiled, then turned to Natalie. "What's on the docket?" He asked.

"You have a 9:30 dinner." She answered.

"Perfect, I'll be there at eleven."

When the race was about to start, however, Tony was nowhere to be found.

Danny looked around, frowning.

When the blue Stark Industries race car passed the building, if you looked hard enough, you would be able to see Tony driving said car.

Danny could see Tony in the car, only because of his advanced senses.

Sam and Tucker frowned. "Where is he?" Tucker asked.

"In the blue race car." Danny answered.

On the second lap, a person with an Arc Reactor, like Tony's (but not inside of his body), and whips came out onto the track.

"Is this part of the show?" Tucker asked.

"I don't think so..." Sam answered.

Tony tried to stop his car, but when the man took off the front part of it, he just got out and ran, hoping that Pepper or Happy or someone was getting his suitcase armor, which he had brought with him.

"Definitely not part of the show." Sam said.

Pepper and Happy had taken the suit, in the car, for Tony. Half of the side door was whipped off, but Tony got the suit, and he put it on.

Danny paused, wondering if he should give Tony some ghostly help or not.

He and the man fought for what seemed like hours. At one point, both of the electrical whips were around Tony's neck.

At that point, Danny was ticked and ran to the restroom, transforming the first chance he got. He flew out, and it was easy to tell he was not happy. At all.

Tony was still pulling at the whip, while J.A.R.V.I.S. was telling him that his power levels were dropping.

"Get away from him!" Danny yelled at the other man, landing on the ground.

The man looked at Danny and smiled a crazy smile.

Tony grabbed onto the whips and pulled while the man was distracted. When the whips were broken, he snatched out the Arc Reactor in the man's chest.

"_Sir, this Arc Reactor does not run on Palladium._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said. "_Please allow me to scan it so I may see what it runs off of, and if it is a replacement for the Palladium core._"

Danny frowned, diving toward the man to keep him from escaping. His eyes blazed with fury.

"_Scan complete. Unknown element, but it will replace Palladium perfectly. There is no way to synthesize this material, however._"

Tony, enraged, crushed the Arc Reactor in his hand. "Damnit." He cursed.

"What's it made out of?" Danny questioned the man, eyes blazing.

"Unknown element. It could replace Palladium, but I'd have to synthesize it first. Which is impossible."

His eyes burned brighter. "Then how did he make it!?"

Tony shook his head. "I don't know."

Danny looked to the man. "He needs to answer..." He muttered, still furious.

Tony shook his head. "No. We need to get home. The party is in a few days, and Pep's getting antsy."

"Then what are we supposed to do with him?" Danny questioned.

"Leave him to the cops. Take away his reactor and you get a human."

Danny frowned, but nodded anyways.

* * *

It was the night of the party. At first, it was just going to be a calm party... But when Tony asked Natalie about what she would do if it was her last birthday. Then... He sorta got drunk and put on the Iron Man armor.

Pepper had _tried _to get Tony to end it...

"You know, the question I get asked most often is, 'Tony, how do you go to the bathroom in the suit?'" He paused for a minute with his eyes closed. "Just like that."

Danny, Sam, and Tucker were all sitting on the opposite side of the room, mortified because of the drunk Tony.

Pepper had asked if Tony had been drinking at one point, and he had answered with "Chlorophyll."

"She's right. The party's over. Then again, the party was over for me, like, an hour and a half ago. The after party starts in fifteen minutes." He smiled. Then, he said under his breath (though everyone could hear it), "And if anybody, Pepper, doesn't like it, there's the door." Then he fired off a repulsor beam at a pane of glass, shattering it.

Danny flinched at the noise- still not exactly used to his advanced hearing.

Another thing Tony shattered was Rhodey's patience. The soldier stormed into the workshop and put on the Mark II armor. Once upstairs again, he said, "I'm only gonna say this once. Get out."

Danny froze, and sighed. "He's not gonna listen." He muttered.

All of the party-goers ran out of the building, and at one point, Pepper had blamed Natalie for what was happening.

The two duked it out in the suits. In the end of the fight, however, both of the men had their hands raised, and the repulsors were whining as they charged up with power.

"Put your hand down." Rhodey said.

"You think you got what it takes to wear that suit?" Tony asked.

"We don't have to do this, Tony." Rhodey semi-pleaded with the drunk man.

"You wanna be the War Machine, take your shot!" Tony commanded.

Danny's eye was beginning to twitch from Tony's drunken behavior.

The two men argued about it for a few more seconds until the repulsors were fired. They fought for power until it exploded, sending Tony through a wall.

Rhodey got up faster than Tony and then flew off with the suit he was wearing.

Danny's eyes widened in shock and he ran towards Tony. "Tony!"

Tony groaned, still drunk. It was going to take a while for **that **to wear off... "Did he just take my fucking suit?" He asked.

Danny paused, then nodded slowly. "Yeah..."

Tony growled at got up, jetting off to who-knows-where.

Danny groaned, and followed after him- mainly to make sure he didn't crash or anything like that.

* * *

Thankfully, Tony didn't crash anywhere. He did, however, decide to go get donuts at Randy's Donuts, and then he sat in the middle of the donut on the roof, eating his donuts, with his helmet off, and he was also wearing sunglasses. He, probably, had a horrible hangover, too.

Danny flew to the donut on the roof where Tony was. "Tony... Are you feeling okay?" He asked, landing nearby.

"Horribly hungover, mad because I'm, most likely, going to die... Yep. Just peachy." Tony said.

Danny frowned.

"Sir! I'm going to have to ask you to exit the donut!" A voice said, and the brothers looked down to see the one and only Nick Fury in all his eye-patchy glory.

"It's a pirate." Danny grumbled.

"Nah. Just Fury." Tony said.

* * *

Now, the three were in the donut shop, Danny a ghost.

"I told you, I don't want to join your super-secret boy-band." Tony said.

Fury laughed, but then turned serious. "You have become a problem. A problem _I _have to deal with. Contrary to popular belief, you are _not _the center of my universe. I've got bigger problems in the southwest region to deal with." He said.

"Then why are you focusing on his problems?" Danny asked.

Fury gave no answer besides a glare with his one good eye.

Tony, hungover, said, "I'm sorry. I don't wanna get on the wrong foot. Do I look at the patch or the eye? Honest, I'm a bit hung over. I'm not sure if your real of if I'm having-"

But Fury broke him off. "I am very real. I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet."

Danny crossed his arms.

Natalie walked in with a black catsuit on. "Huh... you're fired." He muttered.

"That's not up to you." She replied.

Danny smirked slightly- knowing it was Natasha. He wondered if she could recognize him, even though he was in ghost form and thus, looked different.

"You've been _very_ busy. You made your girl your C.E.O., you're giving away all your stuff. You let your friend _fly away_ with _your_ suit. Now, if I know better-" Tony broke Fury off.

"You _don't_ know better. I didn't _give_ it to him. He _took_ it." Tony said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. He _took_ it? You're _Iron Man_ and he just _took_ it? The little brother _walked_ in there, kicked _your_ ass and _took_ your _suit_? Is that possible?" Fury asked, aiming the last question towards Natasha.

"Well, according to Mr. Stark's database security guidelines, there are redundancies to prevent unauthorized usage." She answered.

"What do _you_ want from me?" Tony asked.

"What do _we_ want from _you_? Uh-uh. What do _you_ want from _me_?" Fury corrected. "Hit him!" He continued.

Danny frowned, waiting for Tony to answer.

Natasha, who had a needle in her hand, put it in Tony's neck and pushed the plunger, injecting Tony with a clear liquid.

Danny's eyes widened and he stood up quickly, eyes glowing brightly- protectively.

Tony groaned. "Oh, God, are you gonna steal my kidney and sell it? Could you please _not_ do anything awful for five seconds? What did she just do to me?" He asked.

"What did we just do _for_ you. That's lithium dioxide. It's gonna take the edge off. We're trying to get you back to work." Fury explained.

"Give me a couple boxes of that. I'll be right as rain." Tony sighed.

"It's not a cure, it just abates the symptoms." Natasha said.

"Doesn't look like it's gonna be an easy fix." Fury said, looking at the black lines the palladium was making on Tony's neck.

Danny frowned and sat back down after a minute of calming down.

"Trust me, I know. I'm good at this stuff. I've been _looking_ for a suitable replacement for palladium. I've tried every combination – every permutation – of every known element." Tony said.

"Well, I'm here to tell you, you haven't tried them all." Fury replied.

At that, Tony looked very confused.

"What would that be?" Danny questioned.

Fury just smiled, not answering.

* * *

Somehow, they had ended up back at Tony's house.

Sam and Tucker were in the hall, silently listening in on the conversation.

Danny sat nearby, still in his ghost form.

"What do you remember about your father?" Fury asked.

"He was cold, calculating, never told me he loved me, didn't even tell me that he _liked_ me, so it's a bit hard for me to digest that he said the whole 'future is riding on me thing', you're talking about a man who's happiest day of his life was shipping me off to boarding school." Tony replied.

"That's not true." He said.

"Then what is?" Danny questioned.

Like he's been doing, Fury didn't answer Danny's question.

"Well, then, you must have known my father better than I did." Tony said.

"As a matter of fact, I did. He was one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D." Fury replied.

"...Wait, WHAT?" Tony said, clearly in shock.

Danny's eyes widened. "He- he- he did!?"

Fury nodded. "Your father worked on the unfinished technology in that battery of yours-"

"Unfinished, _until_ I was able to miniaturize it and put it into my chest-"

"No, _unfinished_ technology. He wasn't able to find a way to stabilize the reactor. He later said he had come across a way to do it, but was limited by the technology of his time. He said it would start an energy race to rival the arms race, a source that would make the arc reactor at your factory look like an AA battery. He left it unfinished. He had faith that you would be the one to make it work." Fury explained.

"What about Vanko?" Tony asked.

"Anton Vanko saw it as a way to get rich. Your dad caught him arms dealings, and had him deported. Since Vanko couldn't bring back anything of value, the Soviets sent him to Siberia for the rest of his life swearing vengeance. Not a good environment to raise a son, a son you had the misfortune to cross paths with at Monaco." Fury explained.

"Wait... Mr. Electric-Whips-Dude was the insane son of someone that everybody but me knows?" Danny asked.

"I didn't know him until I looked him up. I was looking at the blueprints for the Arc Reactor, the big one, when I saw Anton Vanko on there, along with dad's name." Tony said.

Danny frowned.

Fury had left Coulson with Tony. Coulson was supposed to watch Tony to make sure that he didn't leave the house, stating that, "If you try to leave I will taze you and let you drool on the carpet while I watch Supernanny."

Danny frowned further, and went into the hallway where Sam and Tucker were to try and get them away from all the craziness.

Sam stubbornly stayed. "You've been leaving us out of everything." She stated.

Tucker nodded in agreement, to Danny's frustration.

Tony, however, had taken a box that some agents had left for him. He took it downstairs, and went to set up a movie screen.

Danny groaned. "Come on guys! Please?"

"And miss the action? No." Tucker said.

Sam smirked slightly. "Two against one!"

"Against two, actually." Danny stated. They looked at him, puzzled. "My human half. And my ghost half."

Tucker face-palmed. "That doesn't count!" Sam exclaimed.

"Yes it does." Danny said, smirking.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Whatever 'your highness'." She remarked. "We still aren't going back into the rooms to hide." She said. "Hey Tucker! Lets go check on Tony!" She exclaimed, her and Tucker running through the living room and going downstairs.

Danny came after them, grumbling about his stubborn friend.

Tony was watching reel after reel, most of them with Howard's mess-up's on the 'City of the Future' speech.

"_From all of us at Stark Industries, I would personally like to show you... my ass._" And then Howard had turned around and tried to pull down his pants.

Just then, Sam and Tucker came down- Danny following.

Tony sighed and muttered something about not wanting to see Howard's ass.

Then, the next video started.

"_Tony, you're too young to understand this right now, so I thought I would put it on film for you." _Howard gestured to his model city behind him. "_I built this for you. And some day you'll __realize__ that it represents a whole lot more than people's inventions; it represents my life's work. This is the key to the future. I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world. What is, and always will be, my greatest creation... is_ you." He said, the film ending.

If you looked hard enough at Tony, you'd be able to see a small smile on his face.

Danny smiled too. "Watching old videos?" He asked.

"Stuff that S.H.I.E.L.D. gave me." Tony replied. "And I think I figured out how to fix the reactor."

Danny grinned. "That's great news!"

"Yeah. Now to get past Agent 'I'm gonna tase you if you try to get out'." Tony smiled, and looked at one of his cars.

* * *

Tony had gotten out of his own house successfully, and had just dropped by some street vendor to get Pepper some strawberries.

Now, he was in Pepper's office, talking to her.

"I just want to talk to you for a minute, well, make that 30 seconds..."

"Okay." She looked at her watch. "29, 28, 27..."

Tony kept trying to tell her that he was dying, but was failing at it. That's when Natasha made an appearance. After Pepper had left with Happy, Natasha said to Tony, "I'm surprised you can keep your mouth shut."

"God you're good. You are mind blowingly close to this. How do you do it? You're a triple impostor, I've never seen anything like it. Is there anything real about you? Do you even speak Latin?" He asked.

"Fallaces sunt rerum species." She said in Latin.

"Which means? Wait, what did you just say?" Tony asked.

"It means you can either drive yourself home or I can have you collected." She lied easily.

After Natasha had left, Tony noticed the City of the Future model that Howard had made. He smiled to himself, then he took it with him back to the house.

* * *

Back at his house, Tony had the model on a table, and he had J.A.R.V.I.S. scan it and make a holographic copy.

Tucker was looking at it in amazement- half tempted to stick his hand through the hologram.

He reached out to do so, and Sam smacked his hand.

Tony told J.A.R.V.I.S. to remove various objects from the hologram, and when he was finished, he was left with the middle part of the model, which was the Earth and some other parts.

Tucker's mouth was open in shock, and Danny was curious about it.

Tony put whatever was left on the Earth, but he took off the continents. That left him with a holographic atom. Then, he enlarged it, and he smiled. "Dead almost 20 years, you're still taking me to school..." Tony muttered about his dad.

Tucker and Sam narrowed their eyes, confused.

Tony made the hologram smaller, and then J.A.R.V.I.S. said, "_This element should serve as a viable replacement for Palladium. Unfortunately, it is impossible to synthesize._"

"Uh-huh..." Tony muttered.

Danny groaned. "Why can't this element be synthesized already!?"

"There's always a way." Tony said, grabbing a large hammer. To Dummy, Butterfingers, and You, he said, "Get ready for a major remodel, fellas. We're back in hardware mode."

"Why are you remodeling, Tony?" Sam wondered.

"Making a particle accelerator." Tony said, taking the hammer to the wall.

"Um, why?" Tucker asked.

"To synthesize the element."

"Okay then..." Tucker mumbled.

After, basically, destroying his workshop, the machine was _almost_ done. Tony just needed to make it level. _That's _when Coulson came in.

"I heard you broke the perimeter." He said.

"That was like, three years ago. Where've you been?" Tony asked.

They went on like that for a while until Coulson took out an unfinished Captain America shield.

"Where did you get this? Do you have any idea what this is?" Coulson asked.

"_That_ is exactly what I need!" Tony said, taking the shield and shoving it under a coil. It was perfectly level when he measured it. "There, see? Perfectly level."

Then they were talking again, until Coulson started to leave.

"Good luck! We need you!" Coulson said.

"More than you know." Tony replied with a smile.

"Not that much!" And then Coulson was gone.

"'Least he didn't taze anybody." Danny commented.

Tony nodded. "And I hope this works." He muttered. "Clear the room, this could get dangerous." Tony said, louder this time.

Danny nodded, and Tucker walked upstairs. Sam ran after him. Danny phased through the ceiling.

Tony, once he was sure that they were safe, went to the valve that would start up the machine. Turning it, a beam of blue light, or more like a lazer, came out of it and started destroying stuff as Tony turned the valve. The beam of light slowly moved towards a cylinder where a triangular piece of metal was positioned. Once the light hit the metal, it was sucked up until it was glowing very brightly. Then, Tony turned off his machine. The triangle was now glowing blue.

"Okay!" He called up. "It's safe to come down! There's no more blue light of destruction and fire!" He continued.

The three teens cautiously came down- Danny now in human form.

Tony took out the glowing blue triangle with tweezers.

"_Congratulations, sir._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said. "_You have created a new element._"

Tony put the triangle into a new arc reactor. The reactor started blinking a bright blue before it stayed lit. "_The reactor has accepted the modified core._" J.A.R.V.I.S. reported. Tony smiled at that.

Danny grinned. "You're gonna live!"

Tucker and Sam looked at him- Tucker pale. "Wait, Tony was gonna die!?"

"Um..." Danny said. "Maybe..."

Sam smacked him upside the head, earning an 'Ow' from Danny. "Don't keep stuff like this from us! We can take it!" She crossed her arms, while Danny rubbed his now-sore head.

"It wasn't his secret to tell." Tony said. "It was mine. Pepper doesn't even know. Or, she won't since I won't die anymore."

"_I will begin running diagnostics now._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said.

"No time. Vanko's planning something." Tony replied.

Danny frowned- still rubbing his head. "What do you think it is?"

Tucker was snickering and both Danny and Sam glared at him. "Shut it, Tuck, or you're getting a combat boot to the place where the sun don't shine." Sam threatened, which quickly shut Tucker up.

"Probably suits. Or something." Tony said. He took out the Palladium Arc Reactor and put in the new one. "Tastes like coconut." Then, he burped softly. "And metal."

"Then we need to stop him from getting any more Arc Reactors and suits." Danny said.

Tony nodded. "J.A.R.V.I.S., get the Mark VI ready."

"Mark VI?" Sam questioned.

"New armor I made for this." Tony explained, tapping the new Arc Reactor.

Danny smirked. "Wait, do we even know where he is?"

Tony froze. "Oh no..."

"What?" Tucker asked.

"The Expo. That's the only place he could be." He said.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker all widened their eyes in shock. "We need to hurry then..." They spoke.

"And Hammer's presenting today... Vanko's working with Hammer. I just know it." Tony said, getting onto the platform to put on the suit.

Danny quickly transformed.

"What should we do?" Sam asked.

"Tucker, you can help J.A.R.V.I.S. out here." Tony said. "Sam, how good are you at interrogating people?"

Tucker had a grin like his parents had won the lottery.

Sam grinned almost devilishly. "Very good."

Tony smiled. "Good." He said as the faceplate slid down, covering his face. "Agent Romanoff and Pepper are supposed to be there. So is Hammer. If you can get him backstage and get the answers out of him, that'd be great." He continued. "Danny, do you still have the communicator?"

Danny nodded.

Sam quickly pulled out some pepper spray and looked at it, determining there was enough.

"Good. There should be another one here somewhere." Tony tried to remember where he put it, so he could give it to Sam.

Sam nodded. "Thanks... Hmm... Does the expo have electronic doors that can be locked via computer?" She asked.

"No." Tony answered.

She frowned. "Oh well..." She mumbled.

"Though, I think there might be some, to the control room." Tony continued.

"Tucker can hack into it then. Make sure he doesn't just leave." Sam said. "Can you do that, Tuck?" She asked.

"Have I hacked into the C.I-" He paused, remembering he was in front of Tony. "Yes. I can."

"Don't worry, my fellow hacker." Tony said, smiling behind the mask. "I've hacked S.H.I.E.L.D. a lot of times."

"Really?" Tucker asked. "I haven't tried to hack them yet." He said. "Note the word yet." He smirked.

"I've hacked most government agencies..." Tony trailed off. "Anyways, let's get going." He continued.

* * *

Now they were at the Expo, and everything was in chaos.

Danny looked around from above, hand holding the button on the communicator. "Have you found either Vanko or Hammer yet?"' He asked.

"_Hammer's in hiding at the Expo, and Vanko's missing. Agent Romanoff just got Rhodey back._" Tony replied, but then said agent's voice was heard.

"_Well done with the new chest piece. I'm reading significantly higher output and your vitals all look promising._" She said.

"_Yes, for the moment, I'm not dying. Thank you._" Tony replied.

"What do you mean you're not dying? Did you just say you're dying?" Pepper asked.

"_Is that you, Pepper? No, I'm not. Not anymore._" Tony said.

"_What's going on?_" Pepper demanded.

"_I was going to tell you, I didn't want you to alarm you-_"

"_You were going to tell me? You really were dying?_"

"_You didn't let me._"

"_Why didn't you tell me that?_"

"_I was going to make you an omelet and tell you._"

"_Hey, hey. Save it for the honeymoon. You got incoming, Tony. Looks like the fight's coming to you._" Natasha broke in.

"_Great. Pepper?_" Tony asked.

"_Are you okay now?_"

"_I'm fine. Don't be mad, I will formally apologize-_"

"_I am mad!_"

"_-when I'm not fending off a Hammeroid attack._"

"_Fine._"

"_We could've been in Venice._"

"_Oh, please._"

Danny rolled his eyes, and started looking around some more.

There was a large clearing where he could see Tony's suit and Rhodey's suit.

He flew over toward them.

"Watch out, Danny. Vanko's supposed to be coming." Tony said, faceplate down.

Danny frowned. "I know." He said. "That guy is crazier than Plasmius..." He muttered under his breath.

Just then, a suit came down from the sky.

"This is just great. He built a suit. Why do they always make suits?" Tony asked.

Danny shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?" He asked.

Fighting it out, at one point Ivan had whips around both Tony and Rhodey's necks.

At that point, Danny was beyond ticked. "Leave them alone!" He yelled, thrusting his fist forward in a punch at him.

Ivan didn't let go at all. If anything, he could have been smiling.

Danny seemed to no longer be there- instead, he seemed more malevolent due to his anger. He growled. "I. Said. Leave. Them. Alone!" He yelled, throwing another punch- his hand glowing a ghostly green and a same colored blast coming out of it, and going straight into Ivan.

The electric whips drew back as Ivan stumbled.

Tony sent off a uni-beam at Ivan while he was stumbling, making him fall to the ground.

Danny continued throwing the green blasts, without realizing exactly what he was doing.

Soon, enough, Ivan was down and dying. "You lose." He said with his dying breath.

Then, Tony noticed that the robots were blinking red. Only one thought crossed his mind. "Pepper!" He said, taking off in her direction.

Danny stood over Ivan, in shock. He looked at his hands- still glowing- and backed away before flying off- going to find Sam before all of the robots went off. He focused on only that- trying to push away the thoughts of what he had just did. _Murder. _He thought, horrified. He quickly pushed that haunting thought away.

After Tony had grabbed Pepper, he flew off to a roof.

Danny found Sam backstage, and sighed in relief. "Sam, we have to go. Now!" He said quickly.

Sam's eyes widened and before she could question Danny, he picked her up bridal style- raising a blush from her- and he jetted off outside.

Once they were clear, the bombs went off. Getting closer to the roof where Tony and Pepper were, they heard their conversation.

"I quit. I'm resigning. My body literally can't handle the stress. I don't know when you're going to kill yourself, or mess up the whole company-"

Before Pepper could finish, Ton grew some balls and kissed Pepper.

"I think I did okay!"

Danny set Sam down. "I knew it!" He exclaimed. "Tucker owes me twenty bucks!"

Sam face-palmed.

Before Tony could say anything to Danny, Rhodey came in.

"_I_ think it's weird. You look like two seals fighting over a grape."

"Hey, you weren't supposed to be listening to that. Get lost." Tony told Rhodey.

"I was here first. Get a roof." Rhodey replied. Then, his face changed. "Tony, look, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Tony replied.

"No, I should have trusted you."

"_I'm_ the one who put you in this position. Forget it."

"No, it's your fault. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Danny rolled his eyes, before frowning. "Should we go home now?" He asked. He needed time to think.

Sam looked at her friend and frowned, wondering what was wrong.

* * *

Danny and Tony sat in a room, waiting for a certain eye-patch wearing director to show up.

Danny was in his human form- not exactly trusting his ghost one after what had happened with Ivan and how he had... Lost control. He looked down at his hands, guilt evident on his face.

Tony went to go grab a file with his name on it, but Fury stopped him. "I don't think that pertains to you anymore." He said, taking that file away. "Now this, on the other hand, is Agent Romanoff's assessment of you." He handed Tony a different file.

Tony began to read from the file, which was done by Natasha. "'Mr. Stark displays compulsive behavior'." He started. "In my defense, that was last week." He defended himself. "'Prone to self-destructive tendencies'." He continued. "I was dying, please, and, aren't we all?" He asked. "'Textbook narcissism'?" He asked. "…Agreed." He finished.

Danny looked. "Do I have a file?" He asked.

"Wait a minute." Fury told Danny. "Read the bottom." He told Tony.

"Recruitment Assessment for Avengers Initiative. Iron Man yes!" Tony said, putting down the file. "I gotta think about it-"

"Read on." Fury said.

Tony sighed and picked up the file again. "Tony Stark not... Not recommended? That doesn't make any sense. How can you approve me yet... Not approve me?" Tony asked. "I've got a new ticker, I'm trying to do right by, uh, Pepper." Fury had gotten up by this point.

"We'd only like to use you as a consultant." Fury said.

"Can't afford me." Tony replied as Fury sat down on the table.

"This is Agent Romanoff's assessment of you, Mr. Fenton." Fury said, handing Danny a file.

Danny looked at the file. "'Mr. Fenton is able to figure things out quickly. He is sarcastic- normal for a teenager. A bit closed off.'." He read. "'When angered he can't hold back and doesn't realize what he's doing before it get out of hand.'." Danny frowned.

"Keep going." Fury said.

"Recruitment Assessment for Avengers Initiative. Daniel Fenton, yes." He read off, before pausing. "I really need a name for my ghost half..." He mumbled.

"Wait a second. You're allowing my brother, who is a minor, into your super-secret boy band but not me?" Tony asked. "That seems a bit odd to me."

Danny smirked slightly.

* * *

Rossi: Wow. 33 pages. That's less than before.

Jenny: Yeah, I know... But we still fit a lot of stuff in here. Vlad wants Tony's Arc Reactor! Danny has ectoblasts now... And... He... Killed someone... PHANTOM HAS ANGER ISSUES!

Rossi: BRUCE ISN'T GOING TO HELP WITH THAT! Well, Tony's ticked because Danny's accepted and he's a consultant. Jealous much?

Jenny: XDDDD Yep! But yeah... Danny at least learned a new power! And that his ghost form is dangerous... And that he needs a 'name' for it now. We all know its Phantom though!

Rossi: Yep! The Avengers chapter will be up soon. Unknown when, but soon.

Jenny: Yeah, it doesn't help that I'm always on vacation with limited Internet access! ONTO THE AVENGERS! I wanna see Loki call Danneh a mewling quim! Or a stupid draugr- which, of course, Danny isn't. XD

Rossi: Finally, I know it was said that Iron Man 3 would be done, but I have some ideas, so there will be _no _Iron Man 3.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:

Rossi: HELLO EVERYONE!

Jenny: Time for the third chapter of A Stark Raised By Fentons.

Rossi: And this time... IT'S THE AVENGERS! Note: There will be more added scenes with Tony and Danny in this.

Jenny: YAYYYYY! Danneh has to deal with the guilt of murder in this chapter... Hmm... And then the real stuff (that is fully ours, plot wise) can begin! MORE KILLING!

Rossi: … Do I have to get Reid to analyze your brain?

Jenny: ... He would fail.

Rossi: He's a certified genius, unlike Tony who is an uncertified genius. I never knew you could be certified.

Jenny: No matter. NOBODY CAN GO THROUGH MY BRAIN AND REMAIN SANE! XD jk. I just like Evil Danny.

Rossi: [Sighs] Lets just start. Oh, wait. REVIEW TIME!

SpiritAni- Thanks! You're getting more right now.

Foxbracken – Phoenix Everren- Yeah, sorry. No Iron Man 3 Chapter... Any time soon. It might pop in at a later time, or there might be a chapter somewhat like Iron Man 3. But, for now, nope.

Hoytti- We all know that Tony becomes an Avenger in the end, whether Fury likes it or not.

And, also, before we go on, I would like to list off who has favorited and who has followed.

Favorites:

**1eragon33**, Alalaya21, DaughterOfTheSea1, **Foxbracken - Phoenix Everren**, KrazyKatzie00, **Pulsar747**, **SpiritAni**, nahte123456, **sohrem666**, vampireorvampyre, **xXBookNinjaXx**,

Follows:

**1eragon33**, **Foxbracken - Phoenix Everren**, Hoytti, Jacob Taz, Jennythe3, Kiomori, Mai'shardstyle, Nega20, **Pulsar747**, RikaoftheDarkRealm, ShadowRhythm, **SpiritAni**, jay86, **sohrem666**, vampirekitty578, Grave Wolf, mailaine, Dark Elfie, **xXBookNinjaXx**, Hippopotamus Hypothesis

I would also like to say one thing: Thank you. This story has gotten better reception than any of my other stories, which makes me feel so happy.

* * *

**A Stark Raised By Fenton's**

**Chapter Three**

**Of Norse Gods and Towers**

* * *

Danny sat in his bedroom, on his bed. He laid down, boredly. He sighed.

Suddenly the phone rang.

Danny jumped up and ran down to the living room, picking up the phone. "Hello?" He had gotten there first- only because Jack and Maddie were downstairs, and Jazz was off at the library.

"_Danny?_" Tony asked.

"It's me." He said.

"_So, the tower's been finished, and tomorrow I'm putting in the new reactor for it as a test, since it's going to run off of the clean energy that the reactor uses._" He said. "_Anyways, I was wondering if you'd like to come over to the tower._"

Danny grinned. "One sec." He said, running downstairs.

Maddie looked up from her recent invention, as did Jack. They grinned. "What is it, Danny-boy?" Jack asked.

"Tony finished up his new tower. And you said there was more ghost stuff you have to deliver to him anyways-"

"You want to go visit him in New York?" Maddie guessed, smiling.

Danny nodded.

"Okay then. Don't get kidnapped." She said, jokingly.

"I won't!" Danny promised, giving each of his parents a hug before running back upstairs. "I can come." He said.

"_Alright. I'll send d the helicopter._" Tony said.

"_Anthony Edward Stark!_" Pepper's voice was heard. "_You are _not _sending a helicopter to pick up your brother._"

"_But it would be the perfect time to test out the-_"

"_That's the end of it, Tony. You're sending a plane._"

"_Fine._" Tony sighed. "_The plane will be there soon._"

Danny nodded, although Tony couldn't see it. "Oh, by the way, my mom's probably gonna be sending me with some more ghost stuff." He started to say stuff in a quieter voice. "It'll probably help against that fruitloop ghost." He added on.

"_Alright._" Tony said.

"_Have a safe flight, Danny._" Pepper added on.

Danny nodded. "See ya' soon."

* * *

The plane had landed, and this time, both Tony and Pepper were waiting for Danny.

Danny came off the plane- which had also been stocked full of new Fenton Equipment like ghost detectors, nets, ecto guns, more Thermoses, and even a newly designed ghost shield.

Tony smiled. "I can't wait to show you the tower." He said.

Danny grinned. "Is it as awesome as it was in the plans?"

"Well, yeah. I built it." Pepper hit Tony upside the head.

Danny smirked. "I'll just have to see it, then."

"And then I have to go out and put in the new power for it, since right now, it's running on electricity."

Danny nodded.

* * *

Tony had just finished disconnecting the transition lines, effectively taking Stark Towers off the grid.

"_Good to go on this end._" Tony said as he exited the body of water he was in. "_The rest is up to you._"

Danny stood in the back of the room he and Pepper were in, watching.

"Assuming that the arc reactor takes over and it actually _works_?" Pepper asked, talking into her cell phone since the power in the tower was off.

"_I assume. Light her up!_" Tony said.

Pepper walked off to who knows where and flipped a switch. Then, all the lights in the tower turned on.

Danny grinned at the fact it actually worked.

"How does it look?" Pepper asked, this time through J.A.R.V.I.S.

"_Like Christmas, but with more... Me._" Tony replied.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Tony, you're being egotistical again!" He said.

Tony laughed.

"Gotta go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I can do some more tomorrow, I'm working on the zoning for the next three buildings." Pepper said.

"_Pepper, you're killing me here. Remember? Enjoy the moment._" Tony said.

"Then get in here and I will."

Danny rolled his eyes.

Tony landed on the walkway that took off his suit. As he was walking, J.A.R.V.I.S. could be heard saying, "_Sir, Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the line._"

"_I'm not in. I'm actually out._" He said as the helmet was taken off.

Danny grumbled his annoyance under his breath, and he crossed his arms.

"_Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting._" J.A.R.V.I.S. continued.

"_Grow a spine, J.A.R.V.I.S._" Tony replied. "_I've got a date._"

"With Pepper. I knew it from the beginning." Danny muttered, with a smirk.

"Levels are holding steady... I think." Pepper said, looking at some data as Tony walked in.

"Of course they are, I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question. How does it feel to be a genius?" Tony asked with a smile, walking up to Pepper.

"Well, I really wouldn't know now, would I?" She replied.

"What do you mean? All this, came from you." He said, grabbing both of her shoulders.

"No. All this, came from that." She replied, pointing to Tony's Arc Reactor, which hadn't changed since Danny last visited his brother.

"Give yourself some credit, please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself... twelve percent of the credit." He said.

"Twelve percent?" Danny questioned, trying to hold back a laugh. "Tony, you're being egotistical... Again."

Tony just smiled.

"_Twelve percent_?" Pepper asked incredulously.

"An argument can be made for fifteen." Tony replied.

"_Twelve percent_ for _my baby_?" She laughed a bit as the two made their way to the couch.

"Well, _I_ did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things. And sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you."

"Ooooh!" She said.

"_My_ private elevator-"

"You mean _our_ elevator?"

"It was _teeming_ with sweaty workmen." He explained, pouring some wine for the two of them. "I'm going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later on, aren't I?" He asked Pepper. "You want anything to drink, Danny?" Tony asked.

Danny shook his head- he was finding this conversation way too amusing to stop watching and get something to drink.

"Not gonna be that subtle." Pepper said.

"I'll tell you what. Next building is gonna say 'Potts' on the tower." Tony said.

"On the _lease_." She corrected. She was about to do a toast with Tony until he pulled back.

"Call your mom, can you bunk over?" He asked.

"_Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being overwritten._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said, ruining their moment.

"_Stark, Mr. Fenton, we need to talk._" Phil Coulson's voice said from the phone.

'_I've got this._' Tony mouthed to Danny. "You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message."

Pepper started to laugh, as did Danny.

"_This is urgent._" Coulson argued.

"Then leave it urgently." Tony replied.

Danny snickered.

Then, the elevator doors opened.

Tony turned around. "Security breach!" He called out. Then, to Pepper, he said, "That's on you."

Danny smiled. "Hey Agent." He said.

Pepper gave Danny a look as she walked up to Coulson.

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Fenton." He said.

"Phil! Come in." Pepper said with a smile.

"Phil?" Tony asked.

"I can't stay." Coulson explained.

"Uh... His first name is Agent." Tony said, pointing at Coulson.

Danny looked at Pepper as if saying, "Duh."

"Come on in, we're celebrating." Pepper said, ignoring the brothers antics.

"Which is why he can't stay." Tony said with a forced smile.

"We need you and your brother to look this over." Phil said, holding out a tablet for Tony to take. "Soon as possible." He added.

"I don't like being handed things." Tony said, eying the tablet like it was going to explode in his face when he touched it.

"That's alright, 'cause I love to be handed things. So, here, let's trade." Pepper said, still smiling. She gave her glass to Coulson, and she took the tablet from Coulson. She took Tony's glass and gave him the tablet. "Thank you." She said.

Danny smirked.

"Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday." Tony explained.

"This isn't a consultation." Phil replied as Tony started to walk over to a table.

"Is this about The Avengers?" Pepper asked, garnering a look from Coulson. "Which I- I know nothing about."

"The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought. And I didn't even qualify." Tony said, turning around for a second.

"I did." Danny said, almost competitively.

"I didn't know that either." Pepper said.

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self obsessed, don't play well with others." Tony quoted.

"That I did know." Pepper nodded.

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore." Coulson said.

"Whatever. Miss Potts, got a minute? And you gotta see it too, Danny. Or so says Agent." Tony said.

Pepper walked over to Tony, who had set up the small tablet.

Danny walked up, to see the tablet.

"You know, I thought we were having a moment." Tony said to Pepper.

"I was having twelve percent of the moment." Pepper said bluntly.

"Which the ego-mania- I mean, my brother, probably tried to keep a lower number." Danny said, in a teasing tone toward Tony.

Tony glared jokingly at Danny.

"This seems serious, Phil's pretty shaken." Pepper said, looking towards said Agent.

"How did you notice? Why is he Phil?" Tony asked.

"What is all this?" Pepper asked, referring to the tablet that Coulson gave to Tony and Danny.

"This is uh..." Tony flicked his hand and everything on the screen of the tablet went onto holographic screens around the table. Each screen had different names on it. There were screens for Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and Bruce Banner were seen, along with two other screens. One with Loki on it, and the other with the Tesseract on it. "This." He said.

"Well... That was informative." Danny said, looking at the screens. He smirked when he saw Natasha that she had a screen of her own- so he had managed to figure out the identity of an _Avenger_? Even cooler than just finding out an S.H.I.E.L.D. agent!

"I'm going to take the jet to D.C. tonight." Pepper said, looking at the screens.

"Tomorrow." Tony said.

"You have homework. You have a lot of homework." Pepper said. "In fact, you _both_ have a lot of homework."

Danny frowned.

"Well, what if I didn't?" Tony asked.

"If you didn't?" Pepper repeated.

"Yeah." Tony nodded.

"You mean if you finished?" Pepper asked, getting a nod from Tony. "Well, um... then..." She whispered something into Tony's ear, making Coulson look away, clearly embarrassed.

Danny also looked away, paying more attention to the screens.

"Square deal. It's the last date." Tony said, getting a kiss from Pepper.

"Work hard." Pepper said, walking off with Coulson.

Tony grabbed the holographic Tesseract. "So Loki stole this, huh?" Tony asked himself. "Wait, where have I heard that name before..."

"Norse mythology." Danny answered. "Sam was into all the old myths a few years ago, and got me and Tuck a bit into it..." He admitted.

"Oh yeah!" Tony said. "Wait, so that's _real_?" He asked.

"I- I guess so..." Danny said, looking at the parts involving Loki for a few minutes.

"Hm..." Tony muttered, looking at the screen with Steve Rogers. "So they found him."

"Who's Steve Rogers?" Danny asked, shifting his attention to said superhero's screens.

"I told you how dad worked on the Super Soldier Project during World War II, correct?"

Danny nodded.

"Steven Grant Rogers was the one they chose. He crashed into the ocean with a H.Y.D.R.A. plane seventy years ago. Many thought he was dead. Dad was the only one who thought he might be alive, because of the Super Soldier Serum inside of him." Tony explained. "He also cared more about Rogers than he did his own _son_!" He seethed.

Danny frowned at that.

Tony shook his head. "Sorry. Old cuts still bleed, I guess."

"No kidding." Danny muttered quietly.

* * *

Tony, while flying in the suit with Danny in his ghost form, hacked into the jet's P.A. system, playing AC/DC's Shoot To Thrill on full blast. Then, to Natasha, he said, "Agent Romanoff, you miss us?"

Danny flew nearby, rolling his eyes at his brother's antics. _Geez, sometimes it feels like I'm the older one or something..._ He then looked ahead.

Tony put a hand forward and shot off a repulsor at Loki, who fell to the ground. Then Tony landed, and aimed both repulsors at Loki, along with every other weapon the suit had. "Make a move, Reindeer Games."

Danny landed next to him and powered up dual ectoblasts, aiming them straight toward Loki. Even looking at the god made him unconsciously shiver- but not from fear. Something else, maybe...? Danny was surprised his ghost sense wasn't going off, for crying out loud. But, he hid this fact.

Loki put up his hands and his armor, minus the scepter, disappeared.

"Good move." Tony said, putting his weapons away.

Captain America turned to both Danny and Tony. "Mr. Stark. Mr...?"

"Stark. Marcus Stark. I'm his brother." Danny said, deciding to go by 'Marcus Stark' for this. He _still _needed a name for his ghost half.

"Howard had another son?" Steve asked, surprised.

Danny nodded.

* * *

Now the four were on the jet.

"I don't like it." Steve said.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Tony replied.

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop." Steve explained.

Danny frowned at that, trying to figure out the whole Loki mystery as well- except, more silently. He was still in ghost form. And he wanted to know why Loki was giving him the chills he usually got with _ghosts_. As far as he knew, Loki was an Asgardian. _Not_ a spirit from another dimension.

"Still, you were pretty _spry_, for an older fellow. What's your thing? Pilates?" Tony asked, changing the topic.

"What?" Steve asked, clearly confused.

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a..." Tony paused to think of a nickname to give Steve. "Capsicle."

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in." Steve said, clearly getting annoyed with the genius.

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you." Tony replied.

Danny was brought out of his musing by then. "You kidding? That guy barely tells anyone anything." He grumbled.

Suddenly, the jet shook as thunder rolled and lightning flashed.

"Where's this coming from?" Natasha asked.

Loki stiffened and looked worried.

Danny glanced toward Loki, frowning. "Alright, so Mr. High and Mighty is afraid of a little thunder and lightning?" He smirked.

"I am not overly fond of what follows." Loki replied.

Then, something smashed into the top of the jet.

Tony opened the hatch while Steve asked what he was doing. A blonde haired man in armor, with a warhammer, got onto the hatch door, and grabbed Loki by the scruff of his shirt. Ripping him out of the seat, the man jumped out of the hatch with Loki.

"Now there's that guy." Tony seethed, putting his helmet on.

Danny quickly narrowed his eyes, and took off- through the jet.

Tony was about to jump out as well when Steve stopped him. "Stark, we need a plan of attack!"

"I have a plan- attack." Tony said, jumping out after Danny, Loki, and the blonde haired man.

Danny flew after the blonde haired man, determination on his face.

"You listen well, brother-" The blonde haired man said before a pissed off Iron Man tackled the man off the cliff.

"I'm listening!" Loki called out.

Danny stopped near Loki a second, glared at him- trying to ignore the cold feeling, then flew off after his brother and the man.

Tony and the man landed in the middle of the forest. Tony had put his faceplate up.

"Do not touch me again." The man said.

"Then don't take my stuff." Tony replied.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with."

"Uh... Shakespeare in the park?" Tony asked. "Doth mother know, you weareth her drapes?" He teased.

"This is beyond you, metal man. Loki will face Asgardian justice." The man argued.

"He gives up the cube and he's all yours. Until then, stay out of the way." Tony said, putting his faceplate down. He turned around and muttered, "Tourist!"

That got the blonde haired man mad, and he threw his hammer at Tony's armored back.

That's when Danny reached them, and he then threw a large ectoplasmic blast at the man's back. "Don't. Touch. Him." He hissed out.

Tony, who had been sent into some trees, got up and growled, sending off repulsor blasts of his own, straight at the man.

Danny sent off several more blasts at the man. "Who are you!?"

The man ignored Danny, and thrust his arm, with the hammer, into the air. Lightning came down on the hammer, as if it was sucking it up. Then, the man aimed the hammer at Tony, who was blasted into some more trees by the ensuing lightning.

When Tony got up, J.A.R.V.I.S. reported something. "_Power at four-hundred percent capacity._"

"How 'bout that?" Tony asked before sending off a unibeam, along with two repulsor blasts from his hands.

Danny frowned, but continued to try and attack the man anyways with ecto beams.

Finally, Steve stepped in. "Hey! That's enough!" He yelled. Turning to the man he said, "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing here-"

The man broke him off. "I am here to put an end to Loki's schemes!"

"Then prove it. Put the hammer down." Steve replied.

"Uh... yep! No! Bad call! He loves his hammer!" Tony said. The man hit Tony with his hammer, throwing into more trees and knocking him out, before turning to Steve.

The man's voice rose as he said, "You want me to put the hammer down!?" He tried to strike Steve with his hammer, but Steve pulled his shield out to defend himself, and a wave of energy was sent out, knocking the man back.

Danny was knocked back into a cliff.

Tony and the man got up. The man walking over to Steve while Tony sped over to Danny.

"You okay?" Tony asked.

Danny nodded, getting back up quickly. "Yeah." _Except for the fact that I'm ticked. _He thought.

"We should get back over there, then." Tony said.

He nodded once more, and immediately flew over toward Steve and the man once more.

Tony followed after his brother.

Steve looked at the group. "We done here?" He asked.

* * *

"Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?" A voice asked.

"It's a stabilizing agent. Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D." Tony explained, walking in with Danny in tow. He walked up to the man- who had identified himself as Thor- and patted his arm. "No hard feelings, Point Break, you gotta mean swing." He said. Then, Tony walked up to a raised platform. "Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants." Tony continued. He pointed at one of the agents behind a computer. "That man is playing galaga! Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." Tony said. He looked at the monitors in front of him and he covered on eye. "How does Fury even see these?" He asked.

"He turns." Maria Hill answered.

"Sounds exhausting." He replied before taking his hand away from his eye.

Danny tried to hold back a laugh- now being in his human form. The form that was a lot less aggressive, cocky, aggressive, brave, aggressive, and arrogant then his ghost one.

"The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to... to kick start the cube." Tony continued.

"When did _you_ become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hill looked at Tony with narrowed eyes.

"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am _I_ the _only one _who did the reading?" Tony asked.

"Does Loki need any _particular_ kind of power source?" Steve asked before Tony went off on another rant.

"He needs to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." The same voice from before replied.

"_Unless_, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." Tony added.

"Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet." The man said.

"Finally, someone who speaks English." Tony said, walking over to the man.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked, clearly confused.

Danny laughed a little bit- he was used to Tony's rantings on all things science, and was a bit surprised he had a better understanding of what Tony was saying then Steve did.

Tony went up to shake the man's hand. "It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster." Tony said, shaking his hand.

Bruce didn't know how to reply to that. "... Thanks." He finally said.

Danny rolled his eyes at Tony's comment. "So, what's the plan? Other than playing the sit-back-and-watch-Loki-to-figure-out-his-plans game?" He asked.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him." Fury said to Tony, appearing from, seemingly, nowhere. "And we are trying to get Loki to tell us his plans now."

Danny paused. "Any success?" He asked.

"No." Fury replied.

Danny frowned.

"Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a H.Y.D.R.A. weapon." Steve said.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Fury put his hands on the table.

Thor looked completely lost. "Monkeys? I do not understand-"

"I do!" Then he saw how everyone was looking at him. "I... I understood that reference."

Danny frowned- he knew it wasn't a time for joking and he was still only a teenager, for crying out loud!

"Hey, Marcus." Tony said, remembering that Danny had introduced himself as Marcus Stark, to the Capsicle. "Wanna come with us to the lab?" He asked.

Danny nodded- also remembering that. "Sure."

* * *

Tony and Bruce were both at different glass screens in the lab, both working on deciphering the scepter.

Danny stood off to the side, watching them. He was _still _trying to come up with a name for his other half.

"The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract. But it's gonna take weeks to process." Bruce reported.

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops." Tony replied.

Bruce laughed at that. "All I packed was a tooth brush."

Danny laughed a little. "You know, for us supposed to be saving the world, it's kinda been quiet..." He said. "I mean, we have the villain. We should have won by now... But Mr. High and Mighty is acting like, well, this is only a small bump in the road for him." He frowned. "It's weird." He stated.

"He still has the Tesseract." Bruce pointed out.

Danny shrugged as if saying 'true'.

"You know, you should come by Stark Towers sometime. Top ten floors, all R and D. You'd love it, it's candy land." Tony offered.

"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke... Harlem." Bruce said.

"How do you break Harlem?" Danny questioned, eyes wide.

Bruce just shook his head as Tony said, "Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tension. No surprises." Then he poked Dr. Banner with an electrical device.

Danny glared at Tony for a minute.

"Ow!" Bruce cried out.

"Nothing?" Tony asked.

Steve stormed in just then. "Hey! Are you nuts!" He said to Tony.

"Jury's out." Tony replied. Then he turned to Bruce. "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?" He asked.

Danny glared at his brother again. "Tony, knock it off." He said, crossing his arms. His eyes had a slight green glow to them.

"Is everything a joke to you?" Rogers asked.

"Funny things are." Tony replied.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny." Steve glared at Tony. "No offense, doctor." He added.

"No, it... It's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle... pointy things." He said.

"You're tiptoeing, big man. You need to strut." Tony said.

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark." Steve said to Tony.

"You think I'm not?" Tony asked. "Why did Fury call us in, why _now_? Why not before? What isn't he telling us?" He continued. "I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables." He finished.

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve asked, surprised.

Danny gave Steve a look that meant, 'Seriously!?'. _Steve thinks that Fury isn't hiding anything?_ He found that humorous.

"He's a spy. Captain, he's _the_ spy. His secrets have secrets." Tony replied. "It's bugging him too, isn't it?" He asked, pointing to Bruce.

"Uh... I just wanna finish my work here and..." Bruce said, trying to get out of it.

"Doctor?" Steve asked.

Bruce sighed. "'A warm light for all mankind to share', Loki's jab at Fury about the cube." He said.

"I heard it." Steve nodded.

Bruce pointed at Tony. "Well, I think that was meant for you. Even if Barton didn't tell Loki, it was posted all over the news."

"The Stark Tower? That big ugly-" Tony glared at Steve. "Building in New York?"

"It's powered by Arc Reactors, self sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for, what, a year?" Bruce asked.

"That's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now." Tony nodded.

Danny smiled a little bit. "Yeah. Pretty much." He said.

"So why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. bring him in on the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Bruce asked.

"I should _probably _look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secure files." Tony mused.

"I'm sorry, did you say...?" Steve asked, again surprised.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours we'll know every dirty secret S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever tried to hide." Tony said, holding out a bag of blueberry's for Steve to take. "Blueberry?"

"Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around?" Steve asked.

"An intelligence organization that _fears_ intelligence? Historically _not_ awesome." Tony replied.

Danny nodded at that.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them." Steve said.

"Following's not really my style." Tony replied.

"And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve asked.

"Of the people in this room, which one is; a) wearing a spangly outfit, and b) not of use?" Tony jabbed.

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?" Bruce asked.

Steve narrowed his eyes. "Just find the cube." He said, turning around and leaving the room.

"You guys do have a point. This whole entire S.H.I.E.L.D. thing is just, weird. It feels like we're puppets." Danny stated. His eyes were narrowed, and still green. "I don't like it." He decided, eyes brighter now.

Tony nodded. "_That's_ the guy my dad _never_ shut up about? Wondering if they should've have kept him on ice." Tony said once Steve was out of earshot.

"The guy's not wrong about Loki, he does have the jump on us." Bruce pointed out.

"What _he's_ got is an ACME dynamite kit. It's gonna blow up in his face, and _I'm _gonna be there when it _does_." Tony said.

"And I'll read all about it." Bruce replied.

"Uh-huh. _Or_ you'll be suiting up like the rest of us." Tony corrected.

"Ah, see. I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed, like a nerve. It's a nightmare." He explained.

"You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart." Tony explained and pointed to his Arc Reactor. "This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a... Terrible privilege."

Danny nodded quietly at that. _Especially since if a ghost gets to him while I'm not there... _He shuddered at the thought of Tony blowing to bits because one ghost could just phase through him.

"But you can control it." Bruce replied.

"Because I learned _how_." Tony added.

"It's different." Bruce said, trying to get back to his work.

Tony wouldn't have any of that, however, and swiped it to the side. "Hey, I read all about your 'accident'. That much gamma exposure _should have_ killed you." He pointed out.

"So you're saying that the Hulk – the other guy – saved my life? That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Save it for what?" Bruce asked.

"I guess we'll find out." Tony replied.

"You may not enjoy that." Bruce pointed out.

"You just might." Tony argued.

Danny simply shrugged.

* * *

Danny looked around. "I just realized something. Everyone else has a superhero name but me." He crossed his arms. "I need a superhero name." He muttered.

"Thor doesn't." Tony pointed out.

"That doesn't count!" Danny exclaimed. "He's an Asgardian. And he doesn't _need_ two IDs, considering how he spends, like, none of his time on Earth." He frowned.

Before Tony could reply, Fury stormed into the room. "What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" He said furiously to Tony.

"Uh... Kind of been wondering the same thing about you." Tony replied.

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract." Fury said.

"We are, the model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile." Bruce said.

"And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss. What is Phase 2?" Tony asked.

Steve stormed into the room. "Phase 2 is S.H.I.E.L.D. uses the cube to make weapons." He said, slamming a gun onto the table. "Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow for me." He told Tony.

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're-" Tony broke Fury off.

"I'm sorry, Nick." Tony said, turning a computer monitor so Fury could see it. "What were you lying?"

"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve said, eyes narrowed.

Danny frowned, mumbling, "I knew we shouldn't have trusted S.H.I.E.L.D." He said, eyes glowing a bright green color.

Fury noticed this. "We all need to calm down." He said.

Then Natasha came in, Thor in tow. "You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" Natasha asked.

Bruce laughed. "I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed."

"Loki's manipulating you." Natasha said darkly.

"And you've been doing what exactly?" He asked.

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you." She replied.

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy." He said, eyes narrowed. "I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction." He said, pointing to the screen with his pen.

Danny looked to Fury, eyes blazing.

Fury sighed. "Because of him." He pointed to Thor.

"Me?" Thor asked, surprised.

"Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge mass that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly – _hilariously__ – _out gunned." He explained.

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor said.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled." Fury said, eye narrowed.

"Oh, so this is all about controlling us now?" Danny questioned. "We aren't animals!" He shouted, outraged. The white rings were threatening to form around his waist and his eyes were brighter than before.

"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve asked.

"You're work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war." Thor explained.

Danny narrowed his eyes.

"A higher form?" Steve asked.

"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something-" Fury said to Thor before Tony cut him off.

"A nuclear deterrent, 'cause that _always_ calms everything right down." Tony said.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury asked.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep-" Steve started, but Tony cut him off, again.

Danny narrowed his eyes further. "He stopped, didn't he!?"

"Wait! Wait! Hold on! How is this now about _me_?" Tony asked.

"I'm sorry, isn't everything?" Steve asked.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor said.

"We're _supposed _to be." Danny grumbled. "Looks like we aren't living up to your standards then." He snapped.

"_Excuse me_, did _we_ come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Fury asked Thor.

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos." Thor said.

"It's his M.O., isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that _makes_ chaos. We're... We're a _time-bomb._" Bruce said.

"You need to step away." Fury told Banner.

"Why _shouldn't_ they guy let off a little steam?" Tony asked.

"You know damn well why! _Back off_!" Steve said, pushing Tony.

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to _make me._" Tony growled.

"Yeah, big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?" Steve taunted.

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Tony replied, eyes narrowed.

"I know guys with _none _of that worth _ten_ of you." Steve said. "I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is _yourself_. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you." He continued.

"I think I would just _cut _the wire." Tony said, arms crossed.

"Always a way out. You know, you _may_ not be a _threat_, but you better _stop_ pretending to be a _hero_." He looked like he wanted to poke Tony in the chest with every word.

Danny growled by then, the rings washing over him. He was about ready to lunge at Steve.

"A hero, like _you_? You're a laboratory experiment, _Rogers_. Everything special about you came out of a _bottle._" Tony said, eyes narrowed and anger bubbling at the surface.

"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds." Rogers said.

Thor laughed at them. "You people are so petty, and tiny." He said with a smile.

Danny spun around and gave Thor a death glare.

"Yeah, this is a tea-" Fury cut Bruce off before he could finished.

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-" This time Bruce cut Fury off.

"Where? You're renting my room." He said.

"The cell was just-" Banner cut Fury off again.

"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know, I tried!" Bruce said. He noticed the looks he was getting and sighed, continuing. "I got low, I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit. It. Out. So I moved on, I focused on _helping _other people. I was _good_ until you dragged me back into this _freak show_ and put everyone here at _risk_! You wanna know my _secret_, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay _calm_?" He asked.

Danny looked over toward Bruce for a second.

Fury unclipped his gun from it's holster as Steve said, "Dr. Banner, put down the scepter."

The computer made a noise and Bruce put down the scepter and started walking towards said computer. "Sorry, kids. You don't get to see my party trick after all." Bruce said.

"Located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

"I can get there faster." Tony said, making his way towards the door.

"Look, all of us-" Thor broke Steve off.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it." Thor said.

"You're _not_ going alone!" Steve said, putting a hand on Tony's shoulder.

Tony looked pissed. "You gonna stop me?" He asked. Yep. Pissed.

"Put on the suit, let's find out." Steve said.

"I'm _not_ afraid to hit an _old man_." Tony jabbed, teetering on the edge of going passed pissed.

"Put on the suit." Rogers commanded.

"Oh, my God!" Bruce muttered, looking at the computer screen.

An explosion rocked the helicarrier, blowing everyone in different directions.

"Put on the suit!" Steve said.

"Not yet." Tony said, peering into the room to see if he could see Danny.

Danny had hit the wall, but he quickly stood up. "What was that!?" He questioned.

"Bomb." Tony answered. "Come on!" Tony continued.

Danny nodded and jumped up, ready to fight.

"_What was that!?_" Fury was heard asking.

"_External detonation. Number three engine is down!_"

Danny frowned, and leaped through the wall to head toward said engine.

Tony ran towards his suit as Steve said he'd meet him there.

* * *

Tony flew towards the broken engine, where Danny was waiting.

"Good. Let's see what we got." Tony said, pushing some things away to look at the damaged engine. "I gotta get this super conducting cooling system back online before I can access the rotors and work on dislodging the debris." He continued, looking over towards Danny and Steve. "I need you two to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in overload position."

Steve nodded and jumped over to where the control panel was, and he opened it up.

Danny flew over toward Steve and the panel.

"What's it look like in there?" Tony asked.

"High tech. Wires." Danny said. "Seems like something you'd be able to figure out fast."

"Well, you're not wrong." Tony said, then he talked them through how to tell if the relays were intact or not.

"Okay, the relays are intact." Steve said. "What's our next move?"

Danny frowned slightly, waiting for Tony to answer.

"Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won't re-engage without a jump. I'm gonna have to get in there and push." Tony replied.

"Well if that thing gets up to speed, you'll get shredded!" Steve pointed out.

Danny nodded. "And getting you out of there intangibly could be dangerous." He said.

"Then stay in the control unit and reverse polarity long enough to disengage maglev-"

"Speak English!" Steve commanded.

Tony sighed. "See that red lever? It'll slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out. Stand by it, wait for my word." He explained. Then he went in.

Steve jumped towards the red lever and waited.

Danny followed.

Then, some of Loki's foot soldiers walked in and tried to shoot Steve with a gun, but he took them down.

Danny quickly turned to the soldiers and growled, lunging at a few men and taking some down.

"_Cap, I need a lever!_" Tony said.

"Kind of busy here." Steve replied while fighting. Then, one of the men threw him out of the hole of the ship. Luckily, he had grabbed a wire that was hanging out.

"_Lever! Now!_" Tony's strained voice said before a thunk and an 'uh-oh' were heard.

Danny quickly jumped back and grabbed the lever, pulling it down.

After Tony was tossed around for a bit in the rotor, he came out, suit very dinged, dented, and whatnot.

Danny smiled slightly. "Now to deal with the attackers..." He said.

* * *

Now only Steve, Danny, and Tony were left. Thor had been dropped out of the ship by Loki, the Hulk was who knows where, and Romanoff and Barton were in the medwing.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them." He took some cards out and threw them to Steve. "We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor. I got nothing for you. Lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming." He paused. "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, both Stark's know this, called The Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could." He looked down. "Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes." Tony got up and walked out of the room, most likely towards where Coulson died. "Well, it's an old fashioned notion."

Danny looked downward, eyes blazing. Coulson hadn't deserved death- trustable or not. He vowed that Coulson would be avenged. No matter what.

* * *

"Was he married?" Steve asked.

"No. He was an uh... Cellist, I think." Tony replied.

"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."

"He _was_ an idiot." Tony corrected.

"Why? For _believing_?" Steve asked.

"For taking on Loki _alone_." He answered.

Danny's eyes snapped open, bright green. "Tony, stop it! He died trying to stop Loki while _we_ weren't there!" He looked downwards. "Since when is trying to be a hero idiotic?" He asked, quietly.

"He was doing his _job_." Steve added.

"He was out of his league. He should have _waited_. He _should have_..." Tony broke off.

"Sometimes there _isn't_ a way out, Tony." Steve pointed out.

"Right. How did that work for _him_?" Tony asked, not looking at anyone.

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve asked.

Something in Tony snapped and he looked straight into Steve's eyes as he said, "We are _not_ soldiers! I'm _not_ marching to Fury's fife!"

Danny nodded to that, arms crossed.

"Neither am I. He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does, but right now we gotta put that behind us and get this _done_. Now Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list-"

"_He_ made it personal." Tony mused.

"That's _not_ the point." Steve pointed out.

"That _is_ the point. That's _Loki's_ point. He hit us _all _right where we live. _Why_?" Tony asked.

"To tear us apart." Steve said, not knowing where Tony was going.

"Yeah, divide and conquer, but he knows he has to take _us_ out to win, right? That's what he _wants_. He wants to beat us, he wants to be _seen_ doing it. He wants an _audience_."

Steve nodded. "Right. I caught his act in Stuttgart."

"Yeah. That's just previews, this is... This is opening night. And Loki, he's a full-tail diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered-" Then, he realized. "Son of a bitch." And he stormed off to go get his suit.

Danny took a moment before he realized it. He growled when he did, and he stood up.

* * *

Tony flew to the tower.

"Shut it down, Dr. Selvig." He told the Astrophysicist who had set up a machine for the Tesseract.

Danny flew behind him, eyes narrowed and ready to fight. He seemed pretty ticked- beyond that.

"It's too late! It can't stop now. He wants to show us something! A new universe." Erik said.

"Okay." Tony said, shooting at the device. But the Tesseract shot up a blue bolt of energy into the sky, which opened up a doorway to outer space, where the Chitauri waited.

"_The barrier is pure energy. It's unbreachable._" J.A.R.V.I.S. said.

Tony and J.A.R.V.I.S. talked for a bit before Tony got onto the platform and unsuited. Walking in, he was met by Loki.

Danny followed invisibly- eyes blazing a deep green at the sight of Loki. _I just want to lunge at him __and-_ Danny's eyes widened at the direction his thoughts were going- through that much gore and violence. _Oh man... Something's really wrong with me..._ He thought- deciding to leave the building and deal with the Chitauri when they came- instead of going straight after Loki and probably doing something he would regret later. He stayed outside the building though- eyes to the sky.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity." Loki asked Tony.

"Uh... Actually, I'm planning to threaten you." Tony corrected, going over to the bar to pour himself a drink.

"You should have left your armor on for that." He said.

"Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the blue glow stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?" Tony asked.

"Stalling me won't change anything." Loki pointed out.

"No, no, no! Threatening. No drink? You sure? I'm having one." He said, getting out a small drink.

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that." He pointed out, then looked out the window. "What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers." He said. Then he saw the look he was getting. "It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type of thing."

"Yes, I've met them." Loki said.

"Yeah, takes us awhile to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a head count here." Tony said. "Your brother, the demigod; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with breath-taking anger management issues; my brother, a half-ghost, half-human hybrid; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them." Loki turned away and Tony put on some bracelets.

"That was the plan."

"Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you."

"I have an army."

"We have a Hulk."

"I thought the beast had wandered off."

"You're missing the point. There's no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it."

"How will your friends and family have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?" Tony looked truly scared when Loki put his scepter on the Arc Reactor. When it didn't work, he calmed down. "It should work."

"Well, performance issues. You know one out of five-" Loki, in anger, grabbed Tony's jaw and threw him across the room. "J.A.R.V.I.S., anytime now." Tony said, trying to get up when Loki grabbed his jaw again.

"You will all fall beneath me." He said before throwing Tony out of the window.

By then, Danny attention had been caught and he was beyond ticked. He turned visible and dove straight toward Loki, eyes furious with an animal-like thirst for blood, and fists glowing an acidic green. "You're an idiot, Loki!" He screamed, as he attacked.

Then, a red and gold bullet shaped object flew out of the wall and out the window, towards the falling Tony. It opened up to reveal a suit. Once it was safely around him, Tony flew upwards, back to the floor where Danny and Loki were fighting.

Danny noticed this and grinned slightly, but he was still too ticked to say anything about it.

"Watch out, Danny." Tony said. "And there's one other person you pissed off! His name is Phil." Tony blasted Loki with his hand repulsors.

Danny nodded, then threw a punch at Loki.

"Lets go, Danny. We have some other things to deal with."

Danny looked from Loki to Tony for a second- human side's knowledge overpowering his ghost side's anger. "Okay." He said, giving Loki a death glare before jumping backwards.

"_Stark, we're heading north east._" Natasha said over the comms.

"What, did you stop for drive-thru? Swing to the park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you." Tony said.

"_Stark, are you seeing this?_" Steve asked.

"I'm seeing, still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?" Tony asked.

"_Banner?_" Steve asked.

"Just keep me posted." Tony said. "J.A.R.V.I.S., find us a soft spot." Tony said.

"How about the insides?" Danny suggested.

Tony smiled. "Nice idea."

"_The powers surrounding the cube is impenetrable._" Thor said after a few minutes of radio silence.

"Thor is right, we gotta deal with these guys." Tony said.

"_How do we do this?_" Natasha asked.

"_As a team._" Steve replied.

"_I have unfinished business with Loki._" Thor stated.

"_Yeah? Get in line._" Hawkeye replied.

"_Save it. Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got the Stark's up top, they're gonna need us-_" Before Steve could finish, Bruce drove up on a motorbike.

"_So, this all seems... Horrible._" He said, breaking the quiet.

"_I've seen worse._" Natasha said.

"_Sorry._" He apologized.

"_No, we could... Use a little worse._" Natasha amended.

"_Stark, we got him._" Steve told Tony.

"Banner?" Tony asked.

"_Just like you said._" Steve replied.

"Tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you." Tony said, with a big sea turtle, worm, alien thing hot on his tail.

"_I- I don't see how that's a party._" Natasha replied.

Danny was nowhere to be seen.

Tony tapped into the private line between only him and Danny. "Hey, Danny. Where'd you go?" He asked.

The line was quiet for a few moments, other than some buzzing. "_I'm inside one of these giant things. Trying to see if I can possess one..._" He trailed off.

"Alright. Though, be careful. Banner's here and I had a plan involving that thing and the Hulk." Tony said.

"_OK._" It went blank- making it seem like Danny had succeeded.

Somewhere in New York City, there was now a Leviathan with glowing green eyes that was now 'turning' against Loki's army. "_This thing is awesome!_" Danny shouted, a grin on his face.

Tony widened his eyes. "Nice."

"_Yeah; it is!_" Came the reply.

The battle went on for what seemed like hours until Tony got a private message from Fury, that no one else could hear.

"_Stark, you hearing me? We have a missile headed straight for the city._" Fury said.

Tony stopped for a minute. "How long?" He asked.

"_Three minutes, at best._" Fury replied.

Tony looked at the portal, a plan forming in his head, before he took off for the bridge, knowing that was where the missile was going to come from.

"_I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!_" Natasha said.

"_Do it!_" Steve replied.

"No, wait!" Tony said.

"_Stark, these things are still coming!_" Steve argued.

"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute." Tony explained. Then, he latched onto the nuke. "And I know just where to put it." He added.

"_Stark, you know that's a one way trip._" Steve pointed out.

Tony said nothing in reply as he guided the missile towards the portal.

"_Tony! What are you doing!?_" Danny questioned.

"Saving the world." Tony replied. J.A.R.V.I.S. had asked if Tony wanted to call Pepper, and Tony had said yes, but she never picked up. Once he went off into outer space and left go of the nuke, the call had disconnected. As he was falling back towards the portal, the last thing he saw – after the suit had shut down – was the ship exploding.

* * *

Danny was inside a Leviathan, and he stopped his destruction of Loki's army to stare at the portal. "Tony!" He screamed.

A few tense minutes passed by before Cap's voice was heard over the communicators. "_Close it._"

Danny frowned. "But Tony is still in there!"

"_And so is a nuclear blast. If we don't close the portal, your brothers actions would have been for nothing._"

And so Natasha forced Loki's scepter through the device and the portal started to close. Before it finished closing, however, a red-and-gold thing fell out of the portal.

"_Son of a gun._" Steve said.

Danny grinned. "Tony!" He yelled- ramming himself toward the ground and jumping out of the Leviathan's body at the last second. He then dove toward where Tony was falling.

Thor's voice was heard next. "_He's not slowing down!_" And, if you looked closely, Tony wasn't flying at all – he was _falling_.

Thor was about to go grab him when the Hulk grabbed him and landed on the ground. Cap and Thor ran towards where the Hulk had put Tony. Steve ripped off the faceplate, and Tony looked dead, his Arc Reactor wasn't glowing at all.

Danny landed on the ground, horrified. "Tony! This is the fourth time you've almost died in front of me! Come on, get up, you can't really be dead!" He said- as if in denial. "You know death of people close to me doesn't go well... You're gonna get up any second..."

Tony made no move to get up.

The Hulk, deciding enough was enough, roared in fury, which made Tony jump and his Arc Reactor start to glow again. "What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." He said.

Danny smiled. "Nobody kissed you."

"We won." Steve replied.

"Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just... take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it." He said tiredly.

"We're not finished yet." Thor said, looking towards the tower.

"And then shawarma after." Tony said.

* * *

After Loki had been taken into custody, Tony and Danny were left alone.

"Seriously dude!? What's with you and almost dying! That was the _fourth_ time!" Danny ranted.

"It's not my fault someone decided to try and nuke Manhattan." Tony said.

Danny frowned. "It could have blown you up!" He looked down.

"It would've done a lot more damage if I had let it _blow up Manhattan_." Tony replied.

He frowned in response. "Sorry. I just don't like the idea of death- even being a ghost. That fact probably makes it a lot worse."

"It probably _was _a stupid idea to put the nuke in the portal... But it was a stupid idea that saved lives." Tony said.

Danny nodded. "I know- I just didn't want you to die!"

"There's always the chance I'll die at any time." Tony pointed out.

Danny frowned. "And I hate that chance!"

"So do I." Tony replied.

* * *

Rossi: AND CUT! Oh, wait... Why did I say that?

Jenny: I thought we were gonna have Tony ask the 'why do you hate death so much' question.

Rossi: Next chapter.

Jenny: Okay~ And guys, we'll have our OWN stories to add on for the next chapters! YAAAAAAY!

Rossi: Also, Jenny and I are going to be writing a Power Rangers/Avengers story! To be specific, a Power Rangers: Dino Thunder/Avengers story!

Jenny: YEP!

Rossi: Expect that story to start soon, probably within the next few days. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ON MY PROFILE! Agent Rossi out. [Leaves]


End file.
